Unexpected Turns
by Jotunn
Summary: When a fresh MIT graduate goes to sleep after his graduation party and wakes up in a Cerberus holding cell on the station where Shepard is being revived in the year 2185, he realizes that life really does take some crazy turns. FemShepxGarrus, OCxTali. This is a slight ME/Crysis/Halo crossover. Rated M for SLJ: Safety, Language, Jack. Beta-read by Eclipse-Luna (formerly Konner N7).
1. Odd turns and a rude awakening

**A/N: This is my first ever fanfic, so reviews would be very much welcome, please help this new writer along. Don't expect updates to occur too often, I am often quite busy with work, school, and playing games with friends when I have free time. I DON'T OWN MASS EFFECT, BIOWARE DOES! I AM JUST A FAN WHO LIKES TO WRITE!**

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**Protagonist POV**

My father once told me that life has a tendency to take some very crazy turns. At the time, I only half-believed him since for me, daily life had been fairly routine. I was a graduate of MIT with a masters' degree at my graduation party, celebrating the coming of a new part of my life.

That was then. Before a massive event took my life, turned it upside-down, shook it, and then kicked it to another universe. The last part was literal by the way.

I woke up in a holding cell about a week before the time I am writing this. Through the glass door of the cell, I could see a logo I had not seen since I was a teenager playing video games. The logo belonged to Cerberus, and the game in question was the Mass Effect series. On top of that, I noticed I was wearing a very familiar suit. The Nanosuit 2 from Crysis 2 and 3, another one of my favorite game series. Crazy story no? I remember going to sleep the night after my graduation party and waking up here. I am torn between deeming this a very visceral lucid dream, me going insane, what it actually seemed to be, or a combination of the first two. But, beyond questioning my own sanity, I decided to put the enhanced hearing the Nanosuit offered me to good use. I didn't get too much beyond the year and where I was. I was being held on the Lazarus Station, where Commander Shepard was being revived, given that I heard the crew making logs stating that it was the year 2185, and how long Shepard had been dead. I am using the Nanosuit to create this log on what I can tell is two days before Shepard is rudely awakened, after two years and 12 days spent dead, it has been currently two years and 10 days. This is based on my memory of playing through the Mass Effect series many times over, so I am not too sure if I am totally correct, but I am hoping I am right.

Next thing I am wondering is why am I being held on the Lazarus station, and not on some other medical facility with them trying to skin me of the suit. I have come up with a few theories, one being that they intend to send me along with Shepard on the Normandy SR2, that being the most likely, since I am sure they have taken some kind of scans to figure out what the Nanosuit can do, but from what my scans and hacking of their systems can tell me, they know very little, but they think I could be an asset, and they likely intend to somehow convince me that Cerberus is right and somehow get my consent to use the suit to make more for their purposes, and my intention is to not let them do so, knowing what happens with Cerberus after the events of Mass Effect 2. Still. If I am correct, I may be able to make my break with Shepard in two days time, and maybe put that degree in engineering to good use. Since I expect little to happen in between now and then, I may as well go back to sleep.$

**Two Days Later **  
I woke up to explosions and gunfire, and the a voice I recognized to be that of one Miranda Lawson talking to Shepard over the intercom. Hearing Shepard approaching, I set the suit to maximum armour and busted the glass wall of my cell, diving out and finishing a roll. I stayed low and got into cover.

"Who are you?" Shepard yells.

"The name's Nick." I yell back over the gunfire.

"What are you doing here? You don't look like a scientist."

"I have no idea why I am here and how I got here. I will explain in more detail when we are in a place that doesn't have prying eyes and ears everywhere. Also when we aren't fighting for our lives."

"Works for me." She says.

"I could use a gun of some kind though." She quickly tosses me a pistol that was lying nearby and a few thermal clips. "Thanks."

"Anytime." She replies.

After a few more rooms full of mechs, we meet Jacob as he is taking cover from three mechs on the other side of a pit.

"Shepard? What the hell? What are you doing here? I thought you were still a work in progress."

"I just woke up. You probably know more than I do." Shepard replied

"Right. Sorry about that. I'm Jacob Taylor. I've been stationed here for-"

A mech spoke over them "Hostiles detected."

"Damn it!" Jacob yells after nearly getting hit. He quickly pops out of cover and blasts the offending mech's head off. "Things must be worse than I thought if Miranda's got you running around. I'll fill you in, but we better get you to the shuttle first."

Both Shepard and I nod our ascent, and after clearing the immediate area of mechs, Jacob and Shepard talk as Shepard asks questions of Jacob. In the meantime, I lean on a nearby wall and ponder the implications that my apparently exact knowledge of the timeline here could have, how easily I could affect the outcome of this whole damn thing. This pondering continues until Jacob calls me over and asks if I have any questions.

"Sure. I have a few. Mainly, why am I on the Lazarus station and not some other station getting this suit picked apart bit by bit?"

"The leader of the Lazarus project feels that you could likely be a big asset for the mission we are planning to do in the near future, and would like to have you along. On that topic, what skills do you have; and where the hell did you learn to shoot like that?"

"I am an engineer with a masters in theoretical propulsion systems from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As for where I learned to shoot, I am self taught. Took me years, but here I am. I am also adept at many forms of martial arts, as I prefer fight close up."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Jacob agrees.

Just then, Jacob receives a message from Wilson and they discuss a plan to get off the station. When they finish talking, my memories from the games that Wilson betrayed them come back to me. I almost mention it to Jacob, but I then remember that he barely believes it when Miranda tells him later. The three of us fight our way to the server room where Wilson is. We arrive to find that he is injured, just like what happened in the games. I am fully convinced now that the games are correct with the timeline here. I figure that it would be best to keep it to myself as long as possible due to the kind of danger my knowledge could pose. After getting some Medi-gel for Wilson, Jacob explains to Shepard that it was Cerberus who revived her. She then loudly declares that she will never work for Cerberus, knowing full well what they have done before. I decide to chime in there.

"Whatever Cerberus may have done before, at least give them time to explain themselves here. They did spend two full years bringing you back from the dead. At least give them a small chance. Besides that, they are the only ones who know how to get the hell off this station, so we best keep moving."

"Alright." Shepard begrudgingly agrees.

We progress through the halls of the Lazarus station until we arrive at what seems to be a dock. After killing a few more mechs, we open the door to a shuttle, and we see Miranda.

"Miranda? But you were-" Wilson never gets to finish his statement as he is shot dead by Miranda.

"Dead?" Miranda finishes for him.

"What the hell are you doing? Jacob exclaims while running up to Wilson's corpse.

"My job. Wilson betrayed us all." Miranda explained.

"Even if you're sure, did he deserve that welcome?!" I retorted while Shepard and I raised our pistols at Miranda.

"He sabotaged the security systems, killed my staff, and he would have killed us if I didn't right now." Miranda said.

"You sure about that Miranda? We've known Wilson for years. What if you're wrong?" Jacob chimed in.

"I'm never wrong. I thought you'd have learned that by now Jacob." I noted Miranda's cockiness for later. She is very sure of herself, just like the games. Almost to the point of arrogance.

"If you say so. What's our next step?" Shepard inquired.

"We get on the shuttle and go. My boss wants to speak to you and the suited man." Miranda explains.

"You mean the Illusive Man? I know you work for Cerberus." Shepard replies.

"Ah, Jacob. I should've known your conscience would get the better of you."

"Lying to the commander and the guy in the suit isn't the way to get them to join our cause."

"On that, I can agree with you Jacob." I say. "Lies don't exactly help you forge alliances in my experience. By the way, call me Nick."

"Well since we're getting everything out in the open, is there anything else you two want to ask before we go?"

"Yeah. I got a question. Why am I here and not at some other lab station getting this suit picked apart. Jacob says that you feel I could be an asset on your mission, but I can tell that there is more to it than just that. Just from talking to you like this I can tell you have a way with words."

"All will be revealed in due time Nick, and you have good instincts and perception. There is more to it than that you will likely make a good asset." Miranda is tactful in her avoiding giving me an answer. I give her a few points in my book.

"Lets go. I've had enough of this station to last a lifetime." Shepard says almost exasperatedly.

"Or two in your case. Come on."

As we are in the shuttle on our way to our destination, Miranda and Jacob ask Shepard to recount various events in her life to make sure her memories are intact. Her answers tell me that she would fit the paragon morality of the games. When we arrive at the station, we are given a few hours to rest and prepare for our chat with the Illusive man and our next mission.

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**A/N: Well. That took less time to write than expected. My protagonist is rather quiet, only entering conversations he feels the need to, and the focus will move more towards him later since the first mission in ME2 kinda makes him stuck with Shepard and most of the conversations are her learning about Cerberus and stuff that my OC already knows about. Also, given the Nanosuit's nature, it is likely to create some form of pseudo-biotics for him since he works around biotics, and is likely to get hit with a few attacks from enemy vanguards and possibly some minor exposure to red sand from the mission when Shepard recruits Samara. Shepard will be a vanguard in this fic. Vanguard is my favourite class to play in ME2 and ME3. Shepard's name will also be revealed in due time, along with a more expanded version of Nick's story.**

**Review if you would be so kind, and please give this new writer pointers. I am open to suggestions here.**

**-Jötunn**


	2. Reunions and progress

**A/N: Many thanks for the follows and the 2 reviews I got. This fic is doing a lot better than I thought it would. I will refer to the Illusive Man as "TIM" like a lot of other authors simply because "TIM" being quicker and easier to write than "the Illusive Man" over and over again. The exception will be when he is referred to in some conversations.**

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It has been about 13 hours since we arrived and were told to get some rest. I am awake and Shepard and I found ourselves in the mess hall to have a small meal before we meet the Illusive man, and then go to investigate Freedom's Progress if my memory serves. On our way to the place we were told to go, we pass by Jacob who gives us a friendly "Good morning" and Miranda who gives us a look that says "Took you long enough." We then enter the room we were told to go to, and an orange holo barrier goes up around us as the Illusive Man appears in front of us.

"Commander Shepard, and... I haven't been told of your name yet." The Illusive Man greets us as best he can.

"My name is privy to those I trust, and, no offence, but I don't trust you at all as of now." I say

"Understandable. I can see why you would be cautious."

"I thought we'd be meeting face to face" Shepard adds.

"A necessary precaution. Not unusual for people who know what you and I know." TIM explains.

"You might be the reason I'm still alive, but that doesn't mean I trust you." Shepard tells him. Wise choice of words in my opinion.

"You need to put your personal feelings aside." TIM says bluntly. "Humanity is up against the greatest threat of our brief existence."

"The Reapers." Shepard adds.

"Good to see your memory's still intact. How are you feeling?"

"Cut to the chase. What are the Reapers doing that made you decide to bring me back?"

"We're at war. No one wants to admit it, but humanity is under attack." TIM says standing up from his chair. "While you've been sleeping, entire colonies have been disappearing. Human colonies. We believe it's someone working for the Reapers. Just as Saren and the Geth aided Sovereign. You've seen it yourself. You bested all of them. That's just one reason we chose you."

"Sovereign was trying to harvest all life in the galaxy. Why would the Reapers target a few human colonies?" Shepard asked.

"Hundreds of thousands of colonists have vanished. I'd say that fits the definition of 'harvesting'. TIM replies. "Nobody's paying attention because it's random and the attacks happen in remote locations. I don't know why they've suddenly targeted humanity. Maybe you got their attention when you killed one of them."

"If what you're saying is true... if the Reapers are behind this... then I'd consider helping you."

"I concur with Shepard. Best someone try to do something about it before too long." I add.

"I'd be disappointed if either of you accepted any of this without seeing it for yourselves. I have a shuttle ready to take the two of you to Freedom's Progress, the latest colony to be abducted. Miranda and Jacob will brief you."

"Wait a sec here. Miranda killed Wilson in cold blood and Jacob is little more than a merc. You honestly expect Shepard and I to trust them?" I say.

"Wilson was one of my best agents, but he was a traitor. Miranda did exactly what I expected of her, and she has saved Shepard's life and your life in more ways than one. Jacob is a soldier, one of the best I have. He's never fully trusted me, but at least he has always been honest about it. The two of you will be fine with them for now." TIM replies.

"Is this a volunteer job or are we being volunteered?" Shepard asks for both of us.

"You two will always have a choice. If you don't find the evidence we are both looking for, we can part ways." I remember how TIM isn't too good with rejection, as proven by his actions during Mass Effect 3, but I will keep that to myself.

"But first, go to Freedom's Progress." TIM adds. "Find any clues you can. Who's abducting the colonies? Do they have any connection to the reapers?" He questions. "I brought you back, Shepard. It's up to you to do the rest."

After the holo barrier retracts, I stop Shepard for a quick word on our views of TIM.

"I don't trust him at all Shepard. I get that he is providing us with resources, but I and getting bad vibes from him."

"I saw what Cerberus did before; they lured investigating Alliance marines into a thresher maw, and then killed Admiral Kahoku. I trust them as little as you do, but you're right. We shouldn't look this gift horse in the mouth." She replies.

"I also have a theory. If they let slip you are doing this work for them, then anything we do to bring their reputation down would do the same to you, but at the moment, you working for them would possibly convince some people that because Commander Shepard is working for them, then Cerberus must be better than what the Council and Alliance have been saying. They could be using you to boost their reputation in a good way."

"I thought of that myself. Makes me like them even less now."

"On that, we can agree. Now, before we go, I'm going to pay the armoury a visit. Miranda left me a note about Cerberus having reverse engineered Geth shotguns and that there is a really nice pistol in stock there. You're welcome to come too."

"Sounds good."

As we finish gathering weapons and Shepard finishes customizing her armor, we make our way back to the staging area where Jacob and Miranda are. "You can go chat with Miranda. I already don't like her too much. I'll talk with Jacob" I say to Shepard quietly.

"Fine." She replies.

I go up to Jacob and tap his shoulder to get his attention. "Oh. Hey Nick. I'm glad the Illusive Man convinced you and Shepard to join us."

"Shepard and I both want to find out what happened to the missing people. Neither of us trusts Cerberus, especially the Commander, giver her knowledge and firsthand experience in some of the things Cerberus has done in the past."

"Noted. Do you trust me, Nick?"

"You're a good man Jacob, but both Shepard and I think that you may be working for the wrong people."

"Maybe, but that is the same thing I though when I was working for the Alliance. That's why I'm here now."

"I think that's good enough for now. We should probably hurry before the ladies drag us out by the ears." I say jokingly.

"Sounds like something Miranda would do if we annoyed her. I agree. We should get going."

With that, we boarded the shuttle and were on our way to Freedom's Progress. When we were within 2 minutes travel time from our destination, Miranda asked a question.

"We should be there shortly. The Illusive Man put Jacob and I under Shepard's and Nick's command. Do either of you have any orders?"

"Our first priority is to look for survivors" Shepard says.

"I agree. If there are any though, they may not be in the best state of mind, meaning that questioning would have to wait a while, but we should get any out alive that we can."

"Survivors are unlikely. No one was left at the other colonies. They were completely deserted." Miranda replied.

"Be nice to find someone though. Anything is better than another ghost town." Jacob added.

We touched down at a landing area, and exited the shuttle.

"Just had to be cold, snowy, dark, and with whistling winds. Perfect horror scene." I say as we start moving.

We enter a residential prefab building to see a set dining table, but nobody to eat the food.

"Looks like everyone just got up and left right in the middle of dinner." Jacob comments.

"Strange. No bodies. No structural damage. No signs of battle." Miranda notes as we progress towards a large door.

"Hold up!" I say. "Suit radar systems are picking up humanoid mechs across a gap on the other side of that door, along with some other mechs that seem vaguely like dogs. Get to cover and I will open it." I add drawing my plasma shotgun.

"LOKI mechs like the ones on the Lazarus station, and FENRIS mechs." Miranda comments. "Kill the FENRIS mechs before they get too close and drain your shields."

"Noted." I say as I open the door, activating a suit mode, Maximum Armor.

I send a few blasts from my shotgun into the LOKI mechs that unfold across the gap as Miranda and Jacob take care of the incoming FENRIS mechs. I then turn my attention to the next wave of LOKI mechs that come through a door across a bridge over the gap. I also notice something. Despite all the fire I am taking, the suit doesn't seem to be having noticeable energy decreases. I chalk it up to the suit getting some upgrades and move on.

"Those mechs shouldn't have been hostile. They should have recognized us as human." Jacob says.

"Someone reprogrammed them to attack on sight. We're not alone here." Miranda notes.

"Wait a sec!" I say. "Let me see if the suit can access one of their memory cores. See if I can't make a viable remote hack that disables them."

"Sounds like a good idea. See what you can do." Shepard agrees.

I stoop down over the corpse of a mech that didn't self destruct after dying, and open up the chest to see if the memory banks got too shot up. They were in good shape, and so I made to open them. They were poorly secured, but the reprogramming was solid, if a bit rushed. But, I would be able to make a disabling pulse to mechs that didn't have this reprogramming.

"Finished. The cores were poorly secured, but the hack was solid. I can't stop the mechs here, but I may be able to make a disabling pulse for use on other mechs in the future."

"That will be very helpful. Always good to have an engineer in the ground team I think." Jacob comments, with Miranda and Shepard nodding their agreement.

We progress through a building with multiple bunks, and what looked to be a Medi-gel dispenser on the wall that had some extra gel in it, so I picked that up for use later. As we were passing by a balcony on another building, a LOKI and FENRIS mech powered up. Taking them down quickly, we kept going up to the balcony and into an open door. When it opens, we see a team of Quarians huddled around a holo display. They stand up and aim their weapons at us, with our group doing the same.

"Stop right there!" A male quarian ordered.

"Prazza! You said you'd let me handle this! Wait... Shepard?" A female quarian I know to be Tali'Zorah says while jumping in between us and them.

"I'm not taking any chances with Cerberus operatives!" Prazza stated.

"Put those weapons down!" Tali yells back to Prazza. "Shepard? Is that... you're alive?"

"Remember when I gave you that Geth data, Tali? Did it help you complete your pilgrimage?" Shepard says in a calming, friendly voice.

"Yes, it did. Prazza, weapons down. This is definitely Commander Shepard."

"Why is your old Commander working for Cerberus?" Prazza asks.

"I don't know. Maybe we should ask." Tali replies.

"I nearly died Tali." Shepard says telling a small lie. "Cerberus spent about two years rebuilding me. They want me to investigate attacks on human colonies."

"Likely story. No organization would commit so many resources to bring back one soldier." Prazza says, not taking into account what Shepard has done.

"You haven't seen Shepard in action, Prazza. Trust me. It was money well spent. And, before we finish this conversation, who or what is the tall... thing in the back of your group?"

I remove my helmet to back up what I say next.

"I'm a human. The name's Nick, an engineer. I'm wearing a very advanced combat exo-suit. Can't go into details about it right now though."

"At least you're not a mech. I have seen enough mechs for one day, and there isn't a visible end to them right now." Tali adds.

"I agree with you on that one." Jacob adds.

"Perhaps we can work together. We're here looking for a young Quarian named Veetor. He was here on pilgrimage." Tali says.

"Isn't that a little strange? A Quarian visiting a remote Human colony?" Shepard asks.

"Quarians can choose where they go on pilgrimage. Veetor liked the idea of helping a small settlement. He was always... nervous in crowds." Tali responds.

"She means that he was unstable. Combine that with damage to his suit's CO2 scrubbers and an infection from an open-air exposure, and he's likely delirious." Prazza states bluntly.

"When he saw us landing, he hid in a warehouse on the far side of the colony. We suspect he also programmed the mechs to attack anything that moved." Tali adds.

"I accessed the memory cores of one of the mechs. His reprogramming is solid, if a bit rushed, the rushed part is explained by his probable mental state. But, the work he did in that state is good. He could make a very good programmer." I note.

"Veetor is the only one who can tell us what happened here. We should work together to find him." Shepard suggests.

"Good idea. You'll need two teams to get past the drones, anyway." Tali agrees.

"Now we're working with Cerberus?" Prazza asks.

"No Prazza, you working for me. If you can't follow orders, go wait on the ship." Tali says sternly. Turning back to us, she continues. "Head for the warehouse through the centre of the colony. We'll circle around the far side and draw off some of the drones to clear you a path."

"Make sure to keep in radio contact." Shepard comments.

"Will do. Good luck, Shepard. Whatever happens... it's good to have you back."

We continue forward and we notice some drones flying overhead, just as Tali radios over about them. After fighting our way through drones and more buildings, Tali radios us again.

"Shepard! Prazza and his squad rushed on ahead. I told them to wait, but they wouldn't listen. They want to find Veetor and take him away before you get here."

"How did I know they would do that?" I say, despite the fact that I did know what happens.

"Come on! We can still catch them." Jacob says.

After fighting our way through a few more drones, we come to a large loading bay door and are instructed to take cover by Tali before she opens it, given her mentioning of a heavy YMIR mech. The doors open and we see Prazza and his squad get annihilated by the YMIR mech. I cringe a little at the sight of a mech operated by a delirious Quarian kill some of it's operator's people. Veetor is as crazy as the games made him out to be. We whittle away at the YMIR until it finally dies in a large explosion. We then move on to the warehouse where Veetor is.

I decide to let the next conversation play out by Shepard's will and tune out to ponder my situation. I may be trained in shooting, and I am just fine with shooting robots, but soon, actual living beings will be in my crosshairs, and I will have to pull that trigger or possibly die. Everyone says that your first kill always takes it's toll, but there is just no way to really prepare for such as thing. I continue to muse on how things are playing out until I hear Tali come in and ask Shepard to give Veetor to the Quarians and they will send his omni tool data to Shepard. I also offer to send Tali a copy of Veetor's reprogramming work. Shepard agrees to both, and we then board the shuttle and head back to the station. When we arrive, Shepard and I are asked to meet with TIM again. I again choose to stay quiet until the end, where I say my farewells as we go with Joker to see the Normandy SR-2. After being told we have a few days before setting out in the Normandy, I come up with a request after seeing the ship schematics and layout that I need to have TIM authorize.

"I had a feeling that it might have been you calling." TIM says to me. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yes actually. When I received the floor plans for the Normandy, I noticed something. On Deck 4, in the main engineering room, I notice that off to the right of where Engineer Daniels and Engineer Donnelly are stationed and the mirrored location on the opposite side of the room, the space behind the bulkheads is unused. My request was that in these empty spaces, engineers' cabins be built. Keeping the engineers on the engineering deck would be useful in situations that require them to be close to their work, as well as when they need to be at their stations on short notice. Can you see my logic?"

"I see your logic and admire your creativity. I agree with your reasoning, and I will have the workers put in those cabins. How many cabins were you planning for there to be on each side?"

"From what I can see, each side could hold two single person cabins, accessed through one main door that leads to a small alcove with smaller sliding doors to access each individual cabin." I reply.

"Forward the plans to the workers, and I will authorize it. The construction shouldn't take more time than the currently planned wait. Thank you for your improvement to the ship." TIM says.

"If it makes my job easier to get to on short notice, I am happy."

With that business concluded, I decide that it would be a good time to catch some shut eye, and for tomorrow, hopefully find something to occupy myself with for the next few days while the Normandy finished the construction and launch preparations.

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**A/N: Well. That was a longer chapter. Just over 3400 words.**

**The engineers' cabins stem from a personal belief that someone who has a job that is crucial to the smooth operation of a ship should be able to sleep near his or her workspace, just in case of emergencies. It will also serve to make the planned pairing of Nick and Tali work better, because to me, relationships that may involve the two involved parties sleeping together wouldn't work too good in the Normandy's crew bunks. I personally believe privacy is rather important for the more intimate side, unless you are the kind of person who is very open with your relationship. It works with Shepard since Shepard has a private cabin, so I had to come up with a creative way to make that work for two people who don't have personal areas in canon. Also I can make it a way for Ken and Gabby to shut up and get a room, because I wonder why BioWare never did just have them get together towards the end of ME3. (if they survived and were pardoned) Ken may be a pervert with a big mouth, but Gabby can shut him up and keep him in line just fine.**

**The Virmire survivor will be Ashley in this fic.**

**And before you go and write a review, can you include in the review if I should make the story move along a bit faster? It is moving along fairly slowly right now, and I wanted to know if I should change that.**

**As for upcoming missions from the game, I will try to keep Mordin's recruitment mission and Garrus' recruitment mission concise enough to fit both into chapter 3. I will also reveal Shepard's first name sometime soon as well. Nick will also find more use of the Nanosuit cloak later, in battles where flanking is possible, because on freedom's progress, most of the battles are on very small, linear battlefields, except for the fight with the YMIR at the end, but cloaking and walking up to a YMIR and attempting to kill it with martial arts just doesn't work in my head. I can see a lot of potential for the cloak's use in a few other missions though.**

**Also, can you tell that I don't like Miranda too much?**

**Thanks to Konner N7 for beta work. Go read his fics. They are quite good.**

**Review, favourite, follow, take your pick. Also tell me if you think I could make the story better in any way. I am still open for suggestions. That was a long ass A/N.**

**-Jötunn**


	3. Hyperactive Salarian and Turian Marksman

**A/N: It is once again a weekend, which means I have time to write. But, this coming week is a school vacation for me, so expect at least 2-3 chapters over the course of the week. I am going to try and fit 2 recruitment missions per chapter, because like I said, my pacing seems to be based on how long the mission seems to take when I play the game, and after the first two, I tend to speed through the game. Many of the smaller, less important conversations or ones that Nick chooses to not take part in that occur in game will be paraphrased to keep the chapter from getting too long, but the most important ones will be written out as they occurred in game, with the additions of what Nick says. Also, I will include the quotes of Mordin rambling before Shepard starts the conversation with Mordin because Mordin is one of my favorite characters. Now, on to chapter 3!**

To sum up the Normandy SR2 in a word, I would say "beautiful." She looked amazing in the games, but I am pretty sure an old saying about being able to appreciate something better in person applies here. Shepard, Jacob, Miranda, and I are still in the decontamination chamber and I am already impressed and amazed. We finish in the decon room and head into the bridge area, where Joker takes a left to go to his chair. We continue to the main section of the CIC, and just before heading down the short set of stairs, Shepard stops to look at the new CIC.

"Welcome aboard the new Normandy, Commander." Jacob says to Shepard.

Shepard continues and stops just in front of the central ship monitor hologram and the surrounding table as Miranda offers her suggestion of where to start our mission.

"I've been looking over the dossiers. I'd strongly recommend starting with acquiring Mordin Solus, the Salarian professoron Omega. We know the Collectors use some type of advanced technology to immobilize their victims. We'll need him to develop a countermeasure to protect us."

"Without that countermeasure, we'll be helpless if we ever run into the Collectors." Shepard acknowledges.

"I have some ideas on how to stop it that he might like. When we were on Freedom's Progress, I managed to pick up some tiny traces of a residue of some kind. Not enough to tell Mordin exactly how to make the countermeasure, but enough to help him along." I add.

"Acquiring Professor Solus seems the most logical place to start." A new voice chimes in.

"Who are you?" Shepard asks of the new voice.

"I am the Normandy's artificial intelligence. The crew like to refer to me as EDI." The now named EDI answers.

"Helmsmen aren't happy when someone takes control of a ship away from them, especially Joker." Shepard informs EDI.

"Nor do we engineers like it when the ship takes our jobs and does them for us. We like to do things for ourselves for the most part." I say adding on to what Shepard had said.

"I do not helm the ship or run engineering jobs. Your talents and Mr. Moreau's talents will not go to waste. During combat, I operate the electronic warfare and cyber warfare suites. Beyond that, I cannot interface with the ship's systems. I observe and offer analysis and advice, nothing more." EDI explained.

"I'm guessing it takes more than just the four of us and Joker to fly this ship." Shepard observes.

"The Normandy has a full crew. They're at their stations and awaiting your orders." Miranda explains.

"Final preparations for takeoff are complete commander. When you're ready to go, just pick a destination from the galaxy map in the CIC and I'll plot a course." Joker pipes up over the comm.

"Jacob and I should return to our posts. Come find us if you have any questions." Miranda says.

"Yeah. I'll be in engineering Shepard. Come see us down there if you want. Being at the bottom of the ship can get lonely sometimes." I add while following Miranda into the elevator.

We stop at deck 3, and I decide to get off the elevator here to go check in with Dr. Chakwas, figuring that I was due for a check-up anyway. I enter the medical bay and walk up to Chakwas.

"Ah. You must be the new ground team member I was told about. I'm Dr. Chakwas, and your name is?"

"I'm Nick. I figured that I could do with a check up. It has been a while and I believe it is customary for a new crew member to see the CMO as soon as they can."

"Well, at least you willingly came in for this. Not everyone on this ship is as willing as you." Chakwas says while running her omni-tool over me. "Well, as far as I can see, you are in perfect shape. However, I noticed that your suit is seemingly linked to you. Do you mind explaining this?"

"I do mind, and it's not you. It's that they have eyes and ears everywhere, and the inner workings of this suit is something I'd rather Cerberus not know about." I explained.

"I can understand that. It seems very advanced. I have to ask, can you remove it at all?"

That was a question I didn't have an answer for. I knew of how the Nanosuit was symbiotic in the Crysis games, and that the wearer would eventually become the suit in a way, but would that apply here? Only one real way to find that out.

"I don't know doctor. But, I should be able to find that out. But first..." Immediately after I say that, I send out an EMP pulse that would deactivate all monitoring bugs in the med bay, and ask Chakwas to cover the windows to the mess area.

I open the suit control menus how I remembered it being done in the games, by engaging a projected interface over the hands. I manage to navigate the menus until I found the option for the suit to detach itself. From what it said of the procedure, the suit had apparently gotten a further upgrade. The nano-muscle could self replicate, meaning that it could repair damage on its own, but it could also do the inverse. Beyond the solid metal pieces, it could recede into a small form almost invisible unless you take a good long look at the person. I instructed it to recede.

"Wow. I have never seen such advanced technology before. That is absolutely amazing." Chakwas comments watching the suit seemingly melt into itself, revealing a bodysuit underneath.

"Well at least I won't be stuck in it 24/7. Do you have any spare uniforms on hand doctor? I feel I would look a bit out of place wearing this."

"Yes, I do. Now if only I was a few years younger..." Chakwas said teasingly.

"Maybe then doc. Anyway, I should get to engineering. Good to have met you doctor." I say while I finish doing up the uniform.

"And thank you for willingly coming in to have a check up, Nick. I won't keep you any longer."

I leave the medical bay and head down to engineering to see Gabby and Ken bickering over something. Well, at least they aren't any different than they were in the games.

"Chief? I was wondering when you would get down here. It was getting very lonely." Ken joked.

"Kenneth, you're speaking to the chief engineer!" Gabby chastised him.

"At ease you two. I was just getting looked over by Dr. Chakwas. I'm Nick by the way." I reply.

"I'm Engineer Ken Donnelly, handling the power control systems. This is Gabby."

"That's Engineer Gabriella Daniels, actually." Gabby says while glaring at Ken. "I'm responsible for the propulsion systems."

"Can we do anything for you Chief?: Ken asks me.

"You two need anything down here? I ask in return.

"I can't really complain. I just wish it didn't take so long to calibrate the FBA arrays -" Ken says and is interrupted by Gabby.

"Kenneth. You're complaining."

"Let me guess. Cerberus gave us bad FBA couplings or the wrong ones." I say.

"The second one. If we could get some T6-FBA couplings, it would be a lot smoother and easier." Gabby said.

"But, Nashan Stellar Dynamics discontinued the T6 series. You could probably find some T6 couplings at a salvage shop on Omega." Ken adds.

"I will keep my eyes peeled then." I respond.

"We also heard that having these cabins installed on this deck was your idea Chief. Thanks for that. Now we can get here quickly if we need to." Gabby says.

"That was my intention Gabby. Now, let's see about how we could fine tune the core output and power systems until we get those T6 couplings."

"Agreed." Ken adds.

We spend a few hours working on the drive core and power system efficiency, interrupted once by a visit from Shepard. Our work was interrupted again later when Shepard called me to the airlock. We had docked at Omega, and she wanted me on the ground team. I then also learned that the suit could form itself over any clothing I may be wearing at the time. It finished setting itself up just as I arrived at the airlock.

"While we are here, do you mind if I look for a salvage shop in the markets? I am looking to see if any of them have some T6-FBA couplings for the drive core systems." I ask Shepard.

"Fine by me. Anything that helps the ship perform better is worth it to me." She agrees.

We step out into a hall and are stopped by an almost frantic Salarian. He babbles at us trying to welcome us to Omega before he is stopped by a Batarian. The Batarian, apparently named Moklan, instructs us to go to the Afterlife club to see Aria. He didn't say why, but I knew. Down the hall, we saw a human that I recognized to be Zaeed beating up a Batarian. After a short chat with Shepard, he proceeds down the hall to clean up the Batarian that he had just shot. We continue through a door to a plaza of sorts.

"I'm receiving quarantine warnings about the slums where Dr. Mordin Solus runs the clinic. Expect resistance at the transport station." EDI informs us.

"Thanks for the info EDI." I respond.

We continue through the large door that leads into the entry hall for Afterlife, where he are stopped by a trio of Batarians. After a few words, Shepard is able to persuade them to leave us alone. We continue into Afterlife. Shepard sees a particular bottle out on the bar, and I recognize it to be the Serrice Ice Brandy that Chakwas asks for in the games. We continue up to Aria's throne, and are stopped before the last set of stairs that lead up to where Aria is sitting. While Shepard talks with Aria, one of Aria's guards, a Turian taps my shoulder and has me follow him a short distance away.

"May I help you?" I ask the Turian.

"Yes, and by doing so, you would be helping Aria. You up for the job?"

"Sure. I'll bite. What is it?"

"Aria's gotten word that some Blood Pack mercs plan to kill an old acquaintance of hers. A Krogan named Patriarch. She'd like you to keep that from happening."

"I do know the story behind how she gained control of Omega, so I can understand why she wants him to stay alive, and why she wants outside help for this. I'm not blind. But, I'll do it if Shepard lets me."

"Sounds good to me. You can find Patriarch in lower Afterlife entertaining his 'fans.' Come back to me when you finish."

I wave Shepard down to ask her if we have the time to do this bit of work for Aria. She agrees, and we continue on our way. We head down to lower afterlife and find the Patriarch. After he gives his story to Shepard, I make my offer, using the words Grunt would if he were on this mission in the games.

"Declare us your krantt. We will kill these assassins in your name." I offer to the Patriarch.

"My krantt... it's been so long since anyone wished to fight for my honor. At least you understand Krogan culture unlike most Humans. If you would do this for me, I would be grateful. I may even be a Krogan again."

"If they are coming for him, then the assassins are likely going to use the nearest entrance to this room." I say making for the nearby door.

We open it to see two armoured Krogan.

"You here for Patriarch?" I ask them.

"What if we are? You gonna do something about it?" The leader responds.

"Patriarch sent us. Told us that we could do whatever we needed to do." I say back.

"You're Patriarch's krantt? I wasn't aware the old man had one!"

"Then you should have done better research." I say while reaching for my pistol.

The leader whips out a flamethrower, which Shepard and I duck underneath while Jacob and Miranda shoot the two Krogan down. With that done, we continue back to the Patriarch to inform him of the news. He seems almost elated to hear of how his krantt had given him his honor back. Returning to Aria, she says the same thing the assassins did, which was that she was unaware the Patriarch had a krantt. As a reward, we were given coordinates to a cache on an uncharted world. With that done, we headed down to the market level through lower Afterlife again, when I notice a salvage shop run by a young Quarian. He welcomes us to his shop, saying that every credit he gets is towards a ticket off Omega. I buy out all of his available stock, including a set of T6 couplings, and giving him extra so that he could get off Omega. We head up to the rest of the markets, where Shepard stops to buy some things that she deemed useful.

After we finished in the markets, we head over to the door leading to the slums where Mordin was. Shepard convinced the Turian guard stationed there to let us in, and he informed us about the plague that is killing everything alive except for Humans and Vorcha. We enter the district and come to a barrier with two other Turians behind it, and one tells the other to hold fire since we were cleared to come in. We continue around the barrier and pick up some data and salvage. We take a right into a door that lead down a staircase into the first area apparently deemed hostile, with two blue suns on the other side of the area. Shepard draws her shotgun and biotically charges at one while I kill the other with a shot from my sniper rifle. We spot a wounded Batarian on the ground, seemingly in great pain, and possibly almost dead. I go over to open a locked door while Shepard tries to talk to the Batarian. She eventually gives him a dose of medi-gel to ease his pain and to gain a little trust so that he would answer her questions. Shepard also managed to convince him to head to Mordin's clinic behind us as we cleared out hostiles. I motioned the group over into the doors I had opened, where we found some refined research metals, and in the next chamber, two dead Turians. After listening to the audio logs made by one of them, we continued forward. We entered a large plaza full of blue suns mercs. I decided to try out the cloak on the suit.

"I'm going to test out the cloak on my suit. Set this code into your omni tools, and you should be able to see where I am while cloaked." I say while cloaking and heading forward. I got to a point where I could see quite a few blue suns that were behind the barrier besides the two guarding it. I move in for a multi-assassination. I snap the neck of a Turian, grab his pistol, then proceed to headshot three more mercs before the rest realize what is happening. I then duck under the fire of one of the remaining mercs and signal the rest of the team to attack as I de-cloak and switch to armor mode. Shepard charges in like usual with Jacob and Miranda using their biotics to single out other targets with warps and pulls. I begin to feel a bit sick. I had just murdered some 7 or more people. Living people. Killing living things, and in cold blood too, was never on my list of things I wanted to do. Sure, I was a marksman, but I used my skills for hunting game most of the time. I thought about our situation for a moment, and realized that we had to keep moving, so I stomached the feeling, knowing that it would come back to bite me in the ass later.

With the battle over, we enter an apartment owned by a human couple, who give us further information about the situation in the district. Shepard convinces them to take refuge in the clinic when we clear a path to it. We leave the apartment and head down the hallway the blue suns came from, grabbing data on a modded vindicator for use later. We head through a door that leads to another empty hallway, and we find ourselves at a large atrium with some Vorcha on the other side shooting at a few blue suns troopers. I cloaked again to try what I had before. I found a lot of Vorcha and Krogan than what could be seen in the atrium. I proceed to kill as many as I can, along with their attack varren as well, before Shepard and the rest of the squad move up, and I once again switched to armor. After killing a few more Krogan, Vorcha, and Varren, we find ourselves at the first door leading to the Clinic.

We enter the clinic after being told to holster our weapons by a guard. We ask a receptionist about where Mordin is. As we continue down the hall, we hear Mordin talking with another receptionist.

"Professor- we're running low on cipoxidin." The receptionist says.

"Use malanarin. Plenty on hand. Almost as good. Causes cramping in Batarians. Supplement with butemerol." Mordin instructs in his usual motor-mouth fashion.

"Malanarin and butemerol. Got it." The receptionist ackowledges.

"Cenozine is the catalyst. Bonds to genetic markers. Hard to find. Expensive to mass produce. Why not heplacore? Too unstable. Inconsistent results. Demozane better option. No. Demozane toxic to Humans. Not an option. Not an option." Mordin rambles to himself.

"Professor Mordin Solus?" Shepard asks.

Mordin approaches us and scans us with his omni tool, likely a check for the plague.

"Hmm. Don't recognize you from area. Too well-armed to be refugees. No merc uniform. Quarantine still in effect. Here for something else. Vorcha? Crew to clean them out? Unlikely. Vorcha a symptom, not a cause. The plague? Investigating possible use as bio-weapon? No. Too many guns. Not enough data equipment. Soldiers, not scientists. Yes. Yes."

"Relax Mordin. I'm Commander Shepard, and I came here to find you. I'm on a critical mission, and I need your help."

"Mission? What mission? No. Too busy. Clinic understaffed. Plague spreading too fast. Who sent you?"

"Ever heard of an organization called Cerberus?" Shepard answered with a question.

"Crossed paths on occasion. Thought they only worked with humans. Why request Salarian aid?"

"I'm on a mission to shut down the Collectors, and I need your help."

"Collectors? Interesting. Plague hitting these slums is engineered. Collectors one of few groups with technology to design it. Our goals may be similar. But, bust stop plague first. Already have a cure, need to distribute it at environmental control center. Vorcha guarding it. Need to kill them."

"We'll get in and deal with the Vorcha." Shepard says. Just then, a loud sound came through the vents, and the lights turned red.

"What in the hell was that just then?" I ask.

"Vorvha have shut down environmental systems. Trying to kill everyone. Need to get power back on before district suffocates. Here, take plague cure. Also, bonus weapon in good faith. Weapon from dead blue suns mercs. May come in handy against Vorcha. One more thing. One of my assistants. Went into Vorcha territory. Looking for victims. Hasn't come back."

"If we see him, we'll do what we can to help." Shepard says.

"Thank you. Told him not to go. But he's smart. Bright future. I hope."

"We also met a sick Batarian at the entrance to the district. Can you send someone to help him?"

"Risky. Blue suns, Vorcha still battling. District not secure. See what I can do."

"Lets head for the environmental plant" Shepard instructed us.

We head out another entrance to the clinic and into a hall. We came to a large, open atrium. Using the tactics that had worked before, I cloaked and went to take out as many as I could while Shepard, Jacob, and Miranda attacked with a frontal assault. After clearing the atrium, we killed a lot more Vorcha and Krogan through a chokepoint before heading up some stairs. We took a left at the top of the stairs and kept moving. The halls we were in were clear of hostiles, so we proceeded quickly. We heard yelling through one of the doors. We entered and saw a young Human being shaken down by a group of Batarians. When they realized we were there, they held a gun to his head, threatening to kill him if we came closer. Shepard used her usual way with words to convince them to release the kid. He then told us that he was Mordin's assistant, Daniel. We told him to head back to the clinic and see Mordin. Afterwards, we headed through another door to see a few pairs of Vorcha across a gap. After killing them, we head down some stairs into a massive, open room. Across another gap on a balcony, Vorcha began firing rockets at us. Ducking in and out of cover, we managed to kill the rocket troops and the Vorcha on the ground of the atrium. We moved forward, entering the front section of the environmental controls. After a few more hallways of Vorcha, we made it to the main control room. We were informed by a Vorcha that they had shut down the systems, and broken the fans, how everyone would choke and die and then the collectors would make them strong. After a long fight, I went to activate the systems. Then, we needed to activate the fans from two control rooms. After multiple fights and a lot of dead Vorcha, we were done. We headed back to the clinic to inform Mordin. He left the clinic to Daniel and we told him to head to the Normandy. Shepard instructed Jacob and Miranda to brief him and get him settled in, and she took Zaeed and I to recruit Archangel.

We signed up for the mission to kill Archangel, and before we left, Shepard convinced a kid to not sign up for the job. The mission was fairly simple. We went around, talking to merc bosses, and picked up a small piece of info for Aria. Along the way, we also sabotaged some mechs and other parts of the mercs' plans, along with killing Sergeant Cathka to ensure the gunship wouldn't be at 100% when it would be used. We followed a few mercs over the bridge, and killed them along with the infiltration team. We finally made it to the deck were Archangel was sniping from. He holds up his hand in a 'wait a minute' signal as he proceeded to kill another merc that was on the bridge. He then takes a step towards us and removes his helmet while sitting down.

"Shepard. I thought you were dead." The newly revealed Garrus says.

"Garrus! What are you doing here?" Shepard asks in a friendly tone.

"Just keeping my skills sharp. A little target practice." Garrus answers.

"You okay?"

"Been better, but it sure is good to see a friendly face. Killing mercs is hard work. Especially on my own."

"Well, we got here, but I don't think getting out will be as easy." Shepard says.

"No, it won't. That bridge has saved my life... funnelling all those witless idiots into scope. But it works both ways. They'll slaughter us if we try to get out that way."

"So we're just supposed to sit here until they come in and rip us apart at the limbs?" I ask.

"It's not all that bad. This place has held them off so far. And with the three of you... I suggest we hold this location, wait for a crack in their defenses, and take our chances. It's not a perfect plan, but it's a plan."

"If we fight as a team, we'll hold them off. And Nick here..." Shepard says motioning to me, "could be your best competition as a marksman."

"Really? Well Nick, you are the first human I have ever seen that can match a Turian in height" Garrus says, referring to my abnormal height of about seven feet. (About 2.1 meters for you metric people, and the height of the characters is based on that Jack's mug shot places her at 6 feet even, and with some estimation, Garrus is maybe 6 foot 8, grunt is about 6 foot 9, and he is slightly taller than Wrex. Disagree with me if you like, but the plot point is that Nick is a bit outside the physical norm for Humans in terms of height, and is taller than most Turians.)

"We will see if you can match me at other games I am good at. Like marksmanship." Garrus continues. "Now, let's see what they're up to."

We go over to where Garrus was perched before to survey the bridge.

Looking through his scope, Garrus makes an observation.

"Hmm. Looks like they know their infiltration team failed. Take a look, scouts, Eclipse, I think." Garrus says hading Shepard his rifle.

Shepard looks at the mechs across the bridge and informs Garrus of her observation.

"That looks like a lot more than scouts."

"Indeed. We better get ready. I'll stay up here. I can do a lot of damage from this vantage point. You... you can do what you do best. Just like old times, Shepard."

"Mind if I join you up here Garrus?" I ask while Shepard and Zaeed head to the lower floor.

"Not at all. Just don't complain when there aren't any of them left for you to shoot. Also, that seems like quite the suit." Garrus agrees.

Garrus and I set to work taking out the high priority targets before they can do serious damage to Shepard and Zaeed, mainly taking out rocket troopers and other specialty troops. After a while, I saw Jaroth, the Eclipse boss. He called in the YMIR mech that Shepard had asked me to sabotage earlier.

"Damn it. They're sending out the heavy mechs." Garrus says.

"That big problem should become their big problem very shortly Garrus." I say to him. "I sabotaged its systems to fire on them." I add.

"You an engineer too?" Garrus inquires.

"Nailed it." I affirm. "But, they could likely hack it when they realize something is wrong, so be ready to take it down hard."

"Got it." Garrus responds.

While the mech lets Shepard and Zaeed take a break and find some more ammo from the various piles around the building, Garrus and I keep picking off mercs who could destroy the mech. Suddenly, the mech freezes for a second, and turns to face us, and opens fire. Behind it, comes Jaroth with a group of mercs.

"Shepard! Zaeed! Get to cover!" I yell over the radio.

After destroying the mech and the last of that wave of mercs, along with Jaroth, Shepard and Zaeed head back up to us to form the next step of the plan. As we are talking, we feel an explosion.

"Damn it. They've breached the lower level. Well they had to use their brains eventually. You better get down there Shepard. I'll keep the bridge clear."

"Don't worry Shepard. I'll stay with Garrus to make sure he doesn't miss." I say to Shepard.

"Thanks Nick. You better get going Shepard." Garrus says.

While Shepard and Zaeed run and gun their way through blood pack mercs to close the shutters, Garrus and I stay on the balcony, picking off the mercs in the next wave of Eclipse. A while later, Shepard calls up to say that she and Zaeed have finished with the shutters and are on their way back up. As they arrive, we notice one of the doors is being cut open. We all take aim as Garm and the blood pack burst through. Garrm was a battlemaster, and like many Krogan battlemasters, was a biotic. Krogan biotics are fearsome opponents, as I had just found out. Garm had charged me after I jumped down and killed his mooks. Only the suit's boosted strength saved me, as I was able to deliver a punch that made him stumble. Using a trick I remember Zaeed explaining in the games, I got within his barriers, took my knife and cut his head plate off, then killed him. I was right about the sick feeling you get when you make your first kills. It was coming back again. Seeing the bits of brain spattered everywhere almost made me retch. Once again, I pushed the feelings back down, with the intention of letting them out later.

"So. You're a marksman who is capable of matching me, an engineer, and you know how to beat a Krogan battlemaster in a one on one melee fight. You get more impressive by the minute Nick." Garrus comments.

"Only the Blue suns are left. I say we take our chances and fight our way out." Shepard suggests.

"I think you're right. Tarak's got the toughest group, but nothing we haven't faced before. Besides, he won't be expecting us to meet him head-on-" Just then, the gunship comes into view.

"Damn it! I though I took that thing out already!" Garrus says. "They're offloading troops! Watch your backs!

Blue suns mercs are dropped in through the window on the end of the room we are in. After dealing with them, more mercs drop in through the windows on the lower floor. We take vantage points and whittle down their numbers. We finish them off, and then I realize something. Garrus is about to get the rocket to the face. I hear the gunship come up and Tarak screaming.

"Archangel!" Tarak yells as the gunship opens fire on Garrus. "You think you can screw with the Blue Suns!"

Garrus takes cover and I act quickly. Tarak fires the rocket, and just as it is about to hit Garrus, There I am. I jump in and take the rocket while activating armor mode. Even in the Crysis games, taking a rocket with armor on will still hurt. A lot. I found that out as well. I was sent flying into the wall behind us. Despite the pain, I had to move. Tarak had many more rockets to spare, so I had to move. I ran at the gunship, and leaped out the window, landing on the gunship. Activating the suit for maximum strength, I punch into the cockpit, and kill Tarak. I jump back into the window as the gunship falls and crashes. I then black out from the injuries.

When I came to, I was in the med bay, with Chakwas standing over me.

"Ah. You're finally up. First off, do you realize how stupid that was? Even with that suit, you still almost died. Then you stood up and killed Tarak immediately after? What the hell were you thinking" Chakwas asks exasperatedly.

"If I hadn't taken that rocket, you would be reconstructing the left side of Garrus' face right now doctor. How long have I been out?"

"Only 45 minutes since Shepard and Garrus carried you in here, so maybe an hour or so. That suit is beyond amazing. It kept you alive, and managed to set your broken bones, and more. I also noticed something. You seemed sick. Why?"

"I... I made my first kills today. I trained myself as a marksman, but killing living things was never on my list of things to do. I always heard that making your first kill can really make you feel sick, but I guess it's something you are never really prepared for."

"It was bound to happen at some point. But, you handled it well. I am obligated to say that killing is wrong, and it is. It can be justified, but never let it become habit. Always try peace first.

"I know doc. Am I free to go now?"

"Yes. You are good to go. Garrus said 'thanks' by the way."

"Thanks doctor."

I make my way to engineering to catch some sleep. We have a few hours until we get to the Citadel so that Shepard can meet with Councillor Anderson. Before I go to sleep, I read one of my favourite poems, and my grandfather's favourite poem, Evangeline by Longfellow, out loud to myself.

_This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,_

_Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight,_

_Stand like Druids of old, with voices sad and prophetic,_

_Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms._

_Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced neighboring ocean_

_Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest._

_This is the forest primeval; but where are the hearts that beneath it_

_Leaped like the roe, when he hears in the woodland the voice of the huntsman?_

_Where is the thatch-roofed village, the home of Acadian farmers,_

_Men whose lives glided on like rivers that water the woodlands,_

_Darkened by shadows of earth, but reflecting an image of heaven?_

_Waste are those pleasant farms, and the farmers forever departed!_

_Scattered like dust and leaves, when the mighty blasts of October_

_Seize them, and whirl them aloft, and sprinkle them far o'er the ocean._

_Naught but tradition remains of the beautiful village of Grand-Pré._

_Ye who believe in affection that hopes, and endures, and is patient,_

_Ye who believe in the beauty and strength of woman's devotion,_

_List to the mournful tradition still sung by the pines of the forest;_

_List to a Tale of Love in Acadie, home of the happy._

With that, I lay down on the bed in my cabin on deck 4 and fall asleep.

**A/N:** **Longest chapter yet. Over 6000 words. I managed to fit two recruitment missions in like I said I would. My intention is that Garrus and Nick will develop an almost brotherly relationship, as both are snipers, can fix and maintain ships, love guns, and jokes. He also has a love of poetry that could match Ashley's enthusiasm and can recite numerous poems from memory, ****such as the poem just above this that he recites before going to sleep.**** I still have big things planned for Nick in future chapters though.**

**Thanks to Konner N7 for beta reading.  
You're welcome –KN7**

**I wrote this chapter with my cat on my head by the way.**

**Review, Favorite, or Follow. Your choice.**

**-Jötunn**


	4. Revelations, meetings, and twists

**A/N: Well, here goes chapter 4. Thanks to everyone for the support and advice. I have been told that I should add to the action scenes, and my response to that is that this story will focus mainly on the characters. The Mass Effect games have a lot of action in them, and I notice that a lot of people these days focus more on the action, and less on what happens in between. Hell, even I forget to stop doing missions at an insanely rapid pace and stop to talk with the rest of the Normandy crew when I play the games. For those reasons, this story will focus mainly on the events, the conversations that I will expand on, and will get better as I improve. Plus, we are only at the beginning portion of ME2. I have the rest of ME2 and all of ME3 to do action scenes. Now, onward to chapter 4. This chapter contains Nick getting some more backstory, Nick chewing out the Council like I always wanted to do in the games, Nick and Garrus sharing a shot of liquor, and the adventure to recruit Jack, with some other stuff in there too.**

* * *

**Dreamscape**

Fire. A gasoline explosion. Specifically, one caused by a car crash.

"Kara! Where are you?" I yell as I run around the flaming wreck to the passenger side of the car. (American layout, driver on left side)

I get to the other side to see half of her body sticking out from under the wreck.

"Kara! Are you alright? Can you hear me?" I say, frantically.

"I can hear you. I don't think I can make it though." Kara says breathlessly.

"Don't say that. I'll get you out of there. You'll be alright. Please stay with me!"

"I'm sorry Nick. I'm so sorry. I won't be going with you." Kara says, gasping for air. "Remember that I always have loved you and always will love you. We were going to have such a great life together."

"Please don't go Kara!" I say, in tears.

"I love you, Nick, but this seems like it is where I... say... good- bye." Kara says, drawing her last breath.

I freeze. Shock runs over me, and I collapse.

Exit Dreamscape

*Gasp*

I shoot up out of bed, panting and in a cold sweat. I'm back onboard the Normandy after reliving the worst few minutes of my entire life. Something I never wanted to ever remember again. Kara, the girl I had grown up across the street from and had been best friends with my entire childhood, and had been my lover in college, died on that night. The girl, no, woman who would have likely been my wife and the mother of my children died because of two drunk students from our university driving on the wrong side of the road. (Again, Nick is American, and so he was on the right side of the road, the drunks were on the left, going towards oncoming traffic.)

"Nick, I detect that your breathing and heart rate are highly elevated. Is something wrong?" EDI pipes up.

"Nightmare, EDI. I'll be fine. How long until we reach the Ciadel?"

"An hour and a half at most. Is there anything else you would like to inquire?"

"No. I'm fine for now EDI."

"Logging you out, Nick."

"An hour and a half. Long enough to have some kind of meal, and maybe try to clear my head of my nightmare." I say to myself.

I get dressed in my uniform and head to the elevator after greeting Gabby and Ken. The elevator arrives on deck 3, and it seems unusually empty, except for Rupert being up and preparing something.

"Morning Rupert." I greet while heading towards the fridge.

"Morning Nick. How are things down in engineering? We aren't all going to die in a big fireball are we?" He asked jokingly.

"Not as far as I can see. Unless Joker decides to be crazier than usual and take us into Geth space with the stealth system turned off, we should be fine." I reply while fixing myself a small meal.

"Hey, Nick, you mind doing me a favor while you're on the Citadel?"

"Sure Rupert. What do you need?" I agree

"I could use some proper cooking provisions. You ever tried to prepare a decent meal on military rations?"

"No, but I have heard the comments of the other crewmembers about the food. They aren't all that good you know."

"Yeah, and with those supplies, the opposite could be true."

"I would be happy to help everyone be able to have a few good meals before we dive into hell."

"Thanks Nick."

"Anytime Rupert. Say, where is everyone? Usually there are more people here."

"Seems like everyone, Shepard included, are sleeping in. The only exceptions being you, Gabriella, Kenneth, and Joker. I got up at my usual time."

"That would explain the lack of faces in here. Well, I may as well enjoy the peace. I got a long day ahead, one that includes listening to the Council's bullshit."

"I don't envy you on that one. There are advantages to only having on-ship duties.

I proceed to eat my breakfast in silence. By the time I am done, a fair number of the crew has filed in and gotten food. On my way out, I was stopped by Kelly and brought away from the mess hall. I figured that EDI told her about that fact that I had a nightmare, Kelly being the ship's shrink ("Shrink" is a term for a psychologist) and all.

"Morning Kelly. I take it EDI told you about my nightmare?"

"Correct. I wanted to ask if there was anything I could do to help."

"I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine. I doubt it will happen again. I will notify you if the nightmares persist to where they could affect my performance."

"Alright Nick. Take care."

The bad part was that I had almost cleared my head of the nightmare, but Kelly had reminded me about it, so I had to find something else to occupy my mind with. I figured a chat with Garrus wouldn't hurt. I headed back to the mess hall and found him eating some dextro food paste.

"Hey Garrus." I say as I sit down on the small catwalk by the sleeper pods.

"Hey Nick. First, thanks again for taking that rocket on Omega. I don't want to imagine how badly I would be holding my body together if you hadn't."

"Better me in my hyper advanced suit than you. Plus. Didn't want that arm to get hurt and you to go soft sitting in a hospital bed."

"Always the thoughtful one."

"Why thank you. Also, I was going to grab some proper cooking supplies for Rupert on the Citadel, and I was wondering if you wanted me to grab any dextro supplies as well. Nutrient paste can't taste too good."

"You don't have to, but you can if you want. Grab some levo and dextro alcohol while you're there. The bar in port observation is rather under stocked in my opinion."

"Will do Garrus."

After a few more minutes of conversation and banter, Garrus headed back into the main battery and I headed back down to my quarters, with about 15 minutes to kill before we docked at the Citadel, which I spent reading on the terminal I asked to be installed in my quarters. I stood back up as I felt the ship dock at the Citadel and headed back to the elevator go to deck 2. I had a small request to ask of Jacob before Shepard, Garrus, and I left.

"Hey Jacob." I greet him as I enter the armory.

"Hey Nick. Here for your weapons I assume?"

"Sharp as ever, but I have a request. Instead of carrying a heavy pistol and an SMG, I would like to change out the SMG for a second phalanx, if we have enough of the phalanxes."

"We should have plenty of the phalanx pistols, so sure." Jacob says.

I remove the M-4 Shuriken SMG from my hip and place my second M-5e Phalanx on my right hip and pick up my Mattock and Geth plasma shotgun and head out of the armory and to the airlock.

Citadel: Zakera Ward

We step out of the docking tube and into the main dock floor. We see a C-Sec customs desk to our left, an Alliance drill sergeant ranting to his subordinates about how you do not eyeball a shot with a 20 kilo ferrous slug. To our far right, we see a keeper at its station, and two Hanar discussing something unintelligible.

"Commander Shepard. Enter the password and receive a free gift!" An advertisement said.

Shepard approached the advertisement holo display.

"Please tell me your password, Commander Shepard."

"Silence is golden." Shepard says.

"Good to finally meet you, Commander Shepard. Kasumi Goto. I'm a fan."

"Has Cerberus filled you in on the mission?" Shepard asked the display, now revealed to be a person.

"Honestly, I'm shocked they didn't come to me sooner. My fault for being hard to find, I guess." Kasumi stated.

"What brought you to Cerberus?" Shepard asked.

"That's a bit of a story. Short version, they were looking for me, so I trailed them to find out why. Turns out they were looking for someone to join you on an important mission... and were offering a serious signing bonus. I had a thing I needed help with, so I made them a deal. And here we are."

"I assume this deal is something I should know about."

"Yeah, I guess it slipped their minds. I'm looking for my old partner's greybox. A man named Donovan Hock took it, and I'm planning to get it back."

"If that's what Cerberus promised you, we'll get it done."

"It'll be fun. And if we're lucky, you won't even have to draw your gun. See you on the ship, Shepard."

"I should ask her for some stealth tips. I could use some help with my cloak tactics." I say

"I would be happy to help you with that, but you will have to find me on the Normandy first." Kasumi says from a ways away.

"I may surprise you Kasumi." I say while activating nanovision and pointing at her.

"We'll see, Nick."

"Well. She learned my name without me even saying it. I'm not even going to try and figure out how. We should get going."

We proceed into a hallway with a scan operator at the far end. An alarm sounds and the operator contacts a superior to ask about what the problem is. Finishing his conversation, he turns back to us.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, ma'am. Our scanners are picking up false readings. They seem to think you're, ah, dead. As for the tall, masked one, we have no records of you in the systems here, or apparently anywhere else."

"I was listed as missing in action a couple of years ago, and he is here for the first time, and hasn't really been somewhere where he would be put into a system like this before." Shepard says covering for both of us.

"Would you two mind checking in with my captain? He can put you two into the system. He's just past the scanners, on your right."

We proceed through the door and we hear Bailey talking to another officer.

"You'll have to make him scream a little. He's not going to tell you everything just 'cause you ask."

"I- I know sir." The second officer replies

"If you don't have the stomach, or you're worried about being reported, I can take care of it." Bailey says.

"No, Sir! I can handle it."

We approach him and Shepard taps his desk a few times.

"Yes? I see the problem already, Commander Shepard. My console says you're dead, and by the records, you don't exist." Bailey says while pointing to me.

"I'm fine with not existing, but if I must be put in the system, I brought a file with my data that you can use Captain." I say to Bailey.

"And aren't you worried that I may be some impostor, Bailey? I could be some undesirable trying to sneak past security." Shepard says.

"We have the best screening equipment in the galaxy. Those scanners can sample DNA from skin flakes. Hell, if you have unregistered gene mods, they can even figure those out. And thanks for having your data prepared. Saves us both a lot of time."

"Figured I should be prepared." I say.

"Your sergeant says that you could reinstate me in the system." Shepard said to Bailey.

"Usually, you'd have to go through the Station Security Administration to reactivate your IDs. Then to Customs and Immigration to regain access to the Citadel itself. And probably a stop by the treasury. 'Spending a year dead' is a popular tax dodge. But, I can see you're a busy woman. So how about I press this button right here, and we call it done?"

"Couldn't one of us – or both of us – get into trouble for that?"

"There's no way to fool the DNA scanners in the tunnel. You're you. Why wait in long lines and fill out a mass of useless hardcopy paperwork to get to the same place? The Council does everything by the book. They've had thousands of years to write it. Sometimes things need to get done without a committee vote."

"Not too big on formalities I see." I say to Bailey.

"I'm with them right up until they keep people from doing their jobs. There. I just saved you two about nine days of running around." Bailey says after tapping a few buttons on his panel. "That said, you should head up to the Presidium to tell them you're alive. The council probably ants to talk to the one that saved their scaly asses."

"I will. Having access to the Council and the Spectres' resources would be useful."

"Yeah. The Council can ge anything. Best thing about working C-Sec is that any equipment, information, or money you need, you get. Anyway. Something else you need, or can I get back to work?"

"We'll let you work. We certainly have a lot of work to do. Let's go." Shepard says to us.

We board a cab to the human embassy on the Presidium to meet Anderson and the Council, and arrive at the lobby to the embassy.

Citadel: Presidium-Human Embassy

"...Shepard will be here any- oh, Commander. We were just talking about you." Anderson finishes.

"It's been a long time, Anderson. I hope the last couple of years have treated you right." Shepard says, greeting the Councillor.

"There've been some rough spots. It's good to have you back."

"We've heard many rumors surrounding your unexpected return. Some of them are... unsettling." The Salarian Councillor said.

"We called this meeting so you could explain your actions, Shepard. We owe you that much. After all, you saved our lives in the battle against Saren and his Geth." The Asari Councillor added.

"The Collectors are abducting human colonists in the Terminus Systems. Worse yet, we think they're working for the Reapers."

"The Terminus Systems are beyond our jurisdiction! Your colonists knew this when the left Council space." The Turian Councillor said.

"You're missing the point, Councillor. The Reapers are involved." Anderson said.

"Ah, yes. Reapers. The immortal race of sentient machines allegedly waiting in dark space. We have dismissed that claim." The Turian Councillor said, almost condescendingly.

"Shepard, no one else encountered the hologram on Ilos that told you the truth about the Reapers. Only you and your crew ever spoke with Sovereign. I believe you, but without evidence from another source, the others think Saren was behind the Geth attacks." Anderson told Shepard.

"Go back to Ilos and talk to Vigil. Or just look at what's left of Sovereign – it's obvious the technology is more advanced than ours, or even the Geth!"

"The hologram on Ilos is no longer functional, and we have found no evidence to suggest that Sovereign was not a geth creation."

"With respect, Councillors, did you find any evidence to suggest that Sovereign was a Geth creation? The Geth are advanced, yes, but I am pretty sure that the Geth don't have the ability to open the arms of the Citadel remotely like Sovereign did, or have the weapons technology to create the weapons Sovereign had."

"And who might you be?"

"My name is inconsequential at the moment, since anything I say or Shepard says will likely be discounted as the ravings of someone not in their right state of mind, Councillors. Just know that I am an engineer and have had time to pick apart Geth corpses and tech, and can say for sure that even the Geth couldn't have come up with Sovereign."

"To me, this Reaper theory proves just how fragile your mental state is, Commander. You've been manipulated first by Saren, and now Cerberus." The Turian Councillor said in a direct attack towards Shepard, and likely myself.

"You know, would you be saying that Shepard is mentally unstable if this was when she was deciding whether or not to save you? Back in the chambers on the tower, when she was debating over whether or not to save you, would you be calling her mentally unstable? I sure wouldn't. She is the reason the three of you are alive and the Citadel is in your hands. Her Reaper theories are what saved all of you and the whole galaxy. Shepard is not mentally unstable; you are just denying what scares you. I am not blaming you for being scared, but your method of showing it is wrong."

"And who are you to come in here and tell us what we should do?" Sparatus accused.

"I am a member of Shepard's crew who has seen what the Collectors are willing to do. They are the creators of that big plague on Omega. Their plan was to kill all non-humans, then collect the humans just like they have done with the colonies. I am appalled and am quite set on doing what I can to get help to fix this. Beyond that, I am an engineer with a highly advanced suit who hates politicians and their bullshit. You want my advice? The Reapers are coming, and nothing but a galaxy of soldiers is going to stop them." I point to Tevos (Asari Councillor) "Art, philosophy, and politics won't cut it. The galaxy will not survive if more than half of your maiden population is shaking their asses in bars. We all have a better chance of surviving if you start your young women working and training early." I turn to Valern (Salarian Councillor) "Your STG scientists should be working on new methods of defence if they aren't, and if they are, then step it up. This war will not be won before it begins, but after a long and bloody series of battles." I finally turn to Sparatus (Turian Councillor) "And the Turians are the greatest military in the galaxy, but you need to entertain the idea of working together; even with humans, despite the animosity."

The Councillors look at me and Shepard, Sparatus clicks his mandibles and the speaks.

"Do you have any proof that this is what we need to do? Because those things will not come easy or quickly."

"Are you really going to gamble on this, Councillor? It took everything we had to destroy Sovereign, and that was just one Reaper. We don't know how many there are, and that is not something to gamble on. Better safe than sorry. Speak to your governments, and if they choose not to prepare, then we will all face dire consequences."

"In light of all of this, we have lost some focus on the now. As a compromise, the Council will reinstate you as a Spectre, Shepard." Tevos begins.

"But only if you keep your operations with Cerberus in the Terminus." Sparatus finishes.

"Cerberus is an avowed enemy of the Council, and working for them is treason. If it becomes known that you are working for them with our support, there would be massive political problems that will arise."

"I accept your offer." Shepard says.

"Good luck with your investigation, Shepard. We hope for a quick resolution... and a quick end to your relationship with Cerberus."

"Don't worry. I intend to leave them when I finish the mission. But, they are providing me with resources and people, so I will stick to it for the time being."

"We understand your reasoning, and see why you are staying. Please do be quick though. We will also think over what you have told us. We still don't know your name, though."

"My name is privy to those I choose to tell it to, mainly because I know things that nobody else does, and there could be mass panic if my knowledge is released. But, I will tell you as long as you keep it a closed secret."

"We understand those terms."

"My name is Nick. Be careful to whom you say it to, and where. A certain broker has bugs here too." I say, having discreetly cleared the room and the immediate area of such bugs.

"We will search for the bugs. Thanks."

The council disconnects, and Anderson approaches me.

"So. Nick. Not a common name these days. Can you tell me anything about yourself that I don't already know?"

"No, Councillor. Not here or now. Another time though. I believe Shepard wants to have a chat with you." I say motioning to Shepard.

I leave the area to give Shepard and Anderson space to talk, and Garrus decides to initiate a conversation.

"Great job with the council. You did what I have wanted to do for years and gave them a dose of reality." Garrus congratulates me.

"Thanks. They sounded like they actually listened and will do as I suggested, or they could just be very good at feigning interest, so I'm not holding my breath."

"Hah. True enough I still wonder if they actually-" Garrus begins but is cut off as Udina storms in yelling.

"Anderson! We need to talk about- Shepard! What are you doing here?"

"Stopped by to see how Anderson was doing."

"You don't have to cover for me." Anderson interjects "I invited Shepard here to speak with the Council. We just finished our meeting."

"You what? Councillor, do the words political shit-storm mean anything to you? Or you?" Udina finished pointing to me. "You just come in here and chew out the council about what they need to do or something?"

"At least I didn't hijack a broadcast system and make a station wide announcement. My method at least didn't induce panic like you seem to think it will."

"Noted. And what about you Shepard?"

"The council reinstated my Spectre status. They're just happy I'm staying out in the Terminus Systems."

"Yes... I could see how that arrangement works best for both sides. But you really shouldn't have taken a step like this without consulting me first, Councillor."

"I don't answer to you, Udina. Why don't you go to your office and think about that for a while?"

"Of course, Councillor. Good day to both of you." Udina said indignantly.

"He doesn't seem to be happy that you got the be Humanity's Councillor, Anderson." I say.

"No, he isn't happy."

With that, Anderson returns to his chat with Shepard. I decide to take a seat and do some work on the suit, figuring out just how it was upgraded from what I remember in Crysis 3. After a minute or two, I learned that what was considered the heavy armor setup in Crysis 3, which had better protection but slower movement and higher energy drain was the standard armor, the same with the improved cloak. I also didn't have to choose between say, being able to remove aim bobbing or having silenced footsteps while cloaked, all those upgrades were standard. I decided to dub the whole package "Nanosuit 2.1" due to the sheer power it represented versus the ones in the games. Not long after I learned these things, Shepard made to leave, and so we headed back out to the cabs to go back to Zakera ward. But, not all was well on the Citadel.

**BOOM!**

A massive explosion rocked the station.

"_Maximum Armor_"

I engaged armor mode and took off towards the source of the blast, on the Presidium. The suit worked to keep me running at an unprecedented pace, I had ran around a fifth of the Presidium in about a minute, and barely felt any fatigue or breathlessness. I arrived at the scene, fields had gone up to preserve containment as the blast had breached the hull of the Citadel, and that is when I noticed something. I was where Shalta Ward connected to the Presidium. Whoever this terrorist was, they intended to blow off the arms of the Citadel. Whoever it was, was going to pay. The breach has spaced about 15 people and a few keepers. I set to work checking the major systems and locking mechanisms that secured Shalta to the ring. The bomber underestimated the raw strength of the linkage, or had intended to target other things, like control systems. I put in a call to C-Sec.

"Presidium C-Sec division, I am at ground zero for the blast. It was intended to damage the linkage holding Shalta Ward onto the Presidium ring."

"Copy, any deaths?"

"About 15 got spaced along with about 3 keepers, and no other keepers have arrived. Containment fields are up though, we have atmosphere. I need a core schematic of the linkage. I may be able to fix it."

"Sorry sir, but civilians do not have clearance for such things."

"This is Commander Shepard, and I authorize you to give Nick those schematics and send your engineers to help him get the basic work done." Shepard decided to interject and send help.

"Thanks Shepard. How far away are you?"

"About 2 minutes in a car."

"Sending the schematics to your omni-tool sir." The C-Sec dispatcher said. "Our engineers can be there in about 30 seconds."

"Good. I don't think I can hold this together myself. The bomber failed to destroy the main linkage systems and mechanisms, but took out a number of control cables. Ah. I see your engineers now. "

"Our Executor is usually angry about vigilante work, but this isn't a time to be picky."

"Tell the Executor I said 'Good day, sir' and that I am happy to try and keep this place together."

"Will do."

The C-Sec engineers and I worked feverishly to reconnect all the control linkages and systems, spending some hours in the service tunnels, usually with me keeping the place from falling on our heads for the first part of work, then, after we fixed the structures, we set to work finishing up and making sure everything was in place, and we then left it open for the keepers to come in and patch our work up to their standards.

All in all, a very odd day on the job. I returned to the C-Sec HQ to andwer questions and leave data on the debris and what traces of the explosive used. The material was often used by batarians, but C-Sec didn't know who could have carried out the attack. They did station extra guards at the bases of each ward to prevent another bombing. I was called back to the Human Embassy by Anderson. He wanted to speak with me.

"Well. Didn't think I would be seeing you again so soon Councilor. Nor did I think I would go from a simple member of Shepard's crew to someone who, by the news casts I am hearing, is called a hero to those on Shalta Ward."

"Neither did I, but the members of Shepard's crew often have some plart that they played to save a ton of people, and if they didn't when she meets them, they will eventually. And you're one of Shepard's crew, so it's just Anderson to you, and you have made another good mark on Humanity's reputation, and I thank you for that."

"I am told the rest of the council wanted to speak with me."

"You heard right. Shepard and Garrus are already in the chambers, along with the rest of the council."

"Then what are we waiting for? I figure we should get moving."

We board the elevator leading up to the council chambers. I step back and lean on the back of the elevator, getting comfy, remembering from Mass Effect 1 that this ride in particular is a long one. About 2 minutes later, I feel the elevator slow down to a stop. Anderson turns off to one side of the chambers, likely to head to his position on the Council's podium.

"Spectre Shepard, Nick, please step forward." Tevos said.

"We are here to acknowledge the work that Nick did today to help keep Shalta Ward connected to the Presidium, and make an offer to Nick." Valern said.

"Our offer is that he be put on the list of candidates for the second Human Spectre, under the observation of Spectre Shepard and her crew." Tevos finished.

"And, to Shepard and Nick, I apologize. I have been too quick to judge humanity, and I will work towards working better with your kind." Sparatus added.

"I am honored that you would consider me a candidate, but I have only done one things that is small in comparison to what Shepard has done. Yes, I worked to save a Ward, but Shepard has saved the whole galaxy. How am I to compare to that? I don't deserve this. I am not even a registered soldier in any group. I am but an engineer who works on a ship."

"Even with being a Spectre on offer you remain humble. Yes, you may have done little in comparison to Shepard and yes, you are not military, but you acted in the face of multiple C-Sec regulations, possibly life threatening danger, and more to do what you did." Sparatus said.

"Nor did I do it alone. I did it with the assistance of some 15 C-Sec engineers. They should be getting a commendation as well."

"They are getting commendations from the Executor right now. But we all see potential in you. Potential to be the next paragon of Humanity." Tevos said.

"And your work in keeping the linkages to Shalta ward impressed some of our best Salarian techs. Our best respect your ability to do such work on your feet." Valern added.

"We see everything we saw in Shepard in you, Nick. Shepard may have set the bar pretty high, but you saved over a fifth of the population of the Citadel. The entire population calls you a hero for you quick work to initially keep Shalta attached, and them alive. That is over 2.7 million people that call you a hero. If that doesn't count in your books, then its anyone's guess as to what does." Tevos said with finality.

"By the way you put it, I guess I have little choice but to accept. I am honored, Councilors."

"Now, how about we get going. Garrus mentioned that you and him had a few things you wanted to grab back on Zakera ward." Shepard said.

**Citadel: Zakera Ward**

When we arrived back on Zakera Level 27, Shepard, Garrus and I split up to make our various purchases. I went to the food shop, Garrus found a liquor store with both dextro and levo drinks, and Shepard went off to buy some things from a hunting store. The whole way, I saw people craning their necks to see the new hero of Shalta Ward as he passed by, carrying groceries. Must feel weird to see a hero doing such mundane things to them. People who are seen like Shepard and I are often larger than life to most, and seeing someone like us out grocery shopping makes us seem more normal. It would explain the odd looks on their faces.

**Normandy**

We finish our shopping runs and make our way back to the Normandy. I dropped the food off with Rupert and went to help Garrus stock up the bar, noticing that Kasumi had made herself comfy on the opposite side of the lounge. We finish stocking up and decide to crack open a bottle and have a shot of our favorites, that being some Scotch Whiskey for me and some Turian brandy for Garrus. Afterward, I go to Kasumi to ask her if she has any poetry in those old printed books and about those stealth tips I mentioned when we first met her. I figured that it was going to be a rather gruelling afternoon learning stealth and hiding from a master. In the meantime, I was notified of our next destination: The Purgatory, where we would recruit Jack.

* * *

**A/N: Whew. I made the 2 chapter mark for this week. Not as long as chapter 3 though. Before you call me out on the power of Nick's suit, there are still weaknesses. Namely, EMP blasts since they disable it. Biotics could stop him where he stands, and the suit can only take so much prolonged fire. The Nanosuit allows one man to make hit-and-run attacks against large groups of enemies in the Crysis games, and all I have done here with the cloak and armor capabilities is allowed for a bit more staying power. Nick is still vulnerable in a firefight. As for the insane ability to run, Nick is already quite athletic without the suit, and the suit merely enhances that along with the oxygenation of the air it filters through the helmet. Just wanted to clear that stuff up. The other thing is that there was nobody really trying to stop him on the citadel. If he charges 4+ enemies headfirst, that will get you killed in both Crysis games and Mass Effect games, so he will have to actually plan in the future. Don't worry about that. I will tone it down in the future. I just wanted to write a piece where my character had a big shining moment, and be done with it.  
**

**And I had though about putting in the little twist with the bombing for a while, and toyed with the idea over the course of the week. I noticed that the members of Shepard's crew had all played a large part in saving the galaxy, and I wanted Nick to have an unexpected start on that one by saving a ward. It also stems from my questioning of how the gigantic wards attach by such small connetions to the comparatively miniscule Presidium ring, and how potentially easy it would be to bomb one of those linkages to detach a ward. Disagree with me if you want, but I'm the author here. **

**As for Nick eventually becoming a full Spectre and not just a recruit, that will be a while. He won't catch any big breaks. He will have to really work for them. The plan is for him to become a full Spectre either by the end of ME2 or the beginning of ME3. Either way, it will be a while.  
**

**And the part where Nick loses his first girlfriend is there to add another layer to how his relationship with Tali will develop, his loss, pain, and guilt will play their parts.  
**

**Thanks to Konner N7 for the beta reading.  
-No Problem Mate**

**Read, Review, Favorite, Follow, take your pick.**

**-Jötunn**


	5. Poker, Quarians, and too much sun

**A/N: Well, another chapter. This chapter will see Nick developing his combat style a bit further, the recruitment of Jack, Kasumi's loyalty, Okee- *ahem* Grunt's recruitment, a bit of a twist, and some in between mission downtime with some more development. Onward to chapter 5!**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! BIOWARE/EA OWNS MASS EFFECT! I JUST OWN MY OC!**

* * *

Kasumi and I emerge from the elevator after a few hours of stealth lessons in the cargo hold, with about 30 minutes to spare until we reach the Hourglass Nebula, and Purgatory. In that spare time, my intention was to eat lunch and make a few mods to my omni-tool, namely the omni-blade. I had decided to put the improved cloak and general stealth systems in the suit to use as an infiltrator and assassin. Use the cloak to move ahead, behind enemy lines if possible, and use the suit visor to mark targets not just for myself, but for the entire ground team. Then, I move to take out the people who would cause the most trouble for the ground team, usually anyone who has explosive weaponry, then retreat back to the shadows. If caught, the armor would allow me to take a few down and then get out. I got to the counter in the kitchen area as I finished my basic battle plan.

"Hey Rupert! Anything for lunch today?" I say.

"Oh boy is there. Those provisions you got on the Citadel were perfect. I have everything I need to keep people happy now." Rupert replied.

"I just hope your reputation can heal quickly, because whatever you got going smells amazing. What is it?"

"Well, today I decided on soups of various kinds, and right now, I got my own butternut squash soup recipe going. Want some?"

"I will take a bowl then. Also, you notice the dextro supplies and recipes I slipped in there?"

"Sure did, and thanks. Garrus will really appreciate being able to eat something other than nutrient paste."

"That he will." I say as I sit down and start eating.

A few minutes later, I had finished and had gotten to work on my omni-blade. About then, Garrus decided to emerge from the main battery. He strode over and sat across the table from me.

"Hi Garrus." I say while fussing with my omni-tool.

"Hey Nick. You ready for the mission?"

"Almost. Decided to refine my style to infiltration and assassination, and I thought of a small addition to my arsenal."

"Let me guess... omni-blade?"

"Yep. Except what I am doing here is doubling the length, and altering the construction of the blade a bit by encasing the blade in a phasic envelope, similar to how Geth assault rifles work. Should make it a lot more effective. And... done. You may want to stand back a bit." I say as I move my right arm into more open space, and activated it. The blade snapped to life, the phasic envelope making a low hum, akin to the sound of a lightsaber in my mind.

"Wow. Can I have one? Because that looks and sounds awesome Nick."

"Maybe later Garrus. We are going to be docking in a few minutes. Which reminds me, I wanted to ask Shepard something." I say remembering part of my stealth training plan.

"Alright, but you have to set my omni-blade up to do that later."

"We'll see Garrus." I say heading towards the elevator, knowing Kasumi is right next to me. "You can come out Kasumi."

"Aww. Your visor's nanovision or whatever you called it is unfair." Kasumi mock whined.

"It's a tool that gives me an advantage, and I intend to put it to full use. Even ruining your fun sometimes."

"Did anyone ever teach you to respect your teachers?"

"Yes, but I respect those that respect me, and I do not consider spying on me respectful."

"Fine. You win that one." Kasumi conceded.

The elevator finally arrived at the CIC, where I could ask Shepard about my plan.

"Hey Nick, hey Kasumi. Do you need anything?" Shepard asked noticing us,

"Yes actually. I wanted to ask if for the next few missions we do, that you let Kasumi and I go along with your usual ground team. We would move ahead and paint targets as we go, and other scouting work."

"Maybe. And what brought this on?"

"I have been teaching him stealth techniques and methods, and we both agree that field experience is the best teacher here, and I would be along to keep him on the right track." Kasumi added.

"Sounds like it could work. Keep in mind that if you get caught, you could cause a lot of problems for the rest of the ground team."

"That's why I am going with him. I can teach him escape techniques as well. He is already a great close range fighter, and his martial arts could give certified masters on Earth a run for their money. If we are caught, we have the simple choice of fight or flight. He can fight great, but the flight needs some work." Kasumi explained.

"Alright. You can start with our mission to Purgatory. Something about the place doesn't add up to me, and you two will scout ahead, and do what you said you would. Paint targets, and notify the rest of us about any upcoming hazards."

"Thanks Shepard. I will be waiting for the mission to start in the bridge with Joker." I say as I command the suit to assemble itself. As I walk by, I notice many sets of eyes on my as the suit unfurls to cover everything but my head, my usually quiet footsteps becoming a series of loud *thuds* as I walk up to the bridge.

"Hey Joker." I say.

"Hey Nick. You know, people are going to mistake you for some hyper-advanced Cerberus mech if you keep wearing that thing."

"Tali already did on Freedom's Progress. Bit late."

"Damn. I was hoping to use the punchline about the Geth mistaking you for one of them."

"That would have worked except for my lack of flashlight head."

"Gah! Why do you have to be such a realist?"

"It comes with being an engineer for me, and I have always had a practical view of the world."

"Well, Garrus seems to be the only person you don't ruin the fun of."

"Is that jealousy in your voice there Joker?"

"Uhhhhhh... No! Why would I- I mean, what reason would I- Fine! You win this one."

"Take notes EDI. Someone needs to be able to out-joke him, and its hard doing that alone."

"Noted." EDI said quickly.

I heard footsteps coming up behind us, and I stood up and set my helmet, mask, and visor to assemble, and entered the airlock with the rest of the team. While we waited, Kasumi and I laid out our plan.

"Alright. Based on what we know about the layout here, Kasumi and I will move ahead of the rest of you, and hopefully someone comes through the door back here," I say while pointing to door leading to the catwalks. "And we can slip through while it closes."

"From there, we will continue with our scouting work. We won't kill anybody, too close quarters for anyone not to notice a corpse."

"I have linked my suit to my omni-tool, allowing me to paint targets with my visor, and the markers will show up on everyone's HUDs. The markers will also have information about the unit they are associated with, such as the weapons they are carrying, tech and/or biotic powers, et cetera. These markers will show up even on targets behind walls" I explain.

"Docking procedures complete." EDI's voice chimes over the comm.

"Alright. Move out." Shepard says.

Kasumi and I cloak and separate from the group, and split up to either side of the room beyond the docking tube doors, passing by a few Blue Suns guards. We get into position around the door in the back of the chamber and wait. I know that Warden Kuril will be coming through shortly, so I already know how long we will be waiting.

Shepard, Garrus, and Zaeed approach the guards, when they are stopped.

"Welcome to the Purgatory, Shepard. Your package is being prepped, and you can claim it shortly. As this is a high-security vessel, you'll need to relinquish your weapons before we proceed."

"I can't do that." Shepard says curtly. At that moment, the door opens, and Kuril steps through. Kasumi and I head through before it closes.

I opened my visor and proceeded to mark every blue sun in sight, while keeping to the sides of the hall. Shepard kept a comm line open so we could hear Kuril explain where Jack was supposed to be.

"Everyone stand down. Commander, I'm Warden Kuril, and this is my ship. Your weapons will be returned on the way out. You must realize this is just a standard procedure."

"It's my standard procedure to keep my gun." Shepard retorts. A few seconds of silence follow until Kuril speaks up again.

"Let them proceed. Our facility is more than secure enough to handle three armed guests. We're bringing Jack out of cryo. As soon as the funds clear, you can be on your way. If you'll follow me to Out-processing for the pickup, Commander."

"Let's go." I hear Shepard say.

"You get that Kasumi?" I say.

"Loud and clear. Out-processing it is."

We move quickly to Out-processing, allowing a passing technician to open the door for us. We follow him in, and I mark more Blue Suns as we go. I know that there is an empty cell at the far end of the room, waiting for Shepard, but I have to make it seem like I have no idea for now.

"Kasumi. I can't hear anybody or anything on the other side of this door. Something isn't adding up here. I am going to see if I can hack the network here. Tell Shepard to stall a bit."

"Gotcha." She says to me. "Shepard, something isn't right. Stall as best you can while Nick checks the ship network."

"Copy that." Shepard says over the comm.

"Aha! The door here leads to an open cell. I was able to get into Kuril's messages. He made a deal with the Collectors to get your body, Shepard. Sending the message along and leaving scrambles in the network to make lockdown a lot slower than the techs think it will be."

"I knew something was off here. Thanks for the heads up. What should we do now?" Shepard says to Kasumi and I.

"Well, no matter how we do this, it will end in a fight. May as well fight together, so I say get to Out-processing, spring the trap, while Kasumi and I get a head start by taking down their more powerful units."

"Sounds like a solid plan to me." Garrus says.

"Alright. We will get going."

"I think you may be fine on your own next time Nick. You are really getting this down fast." Kasumi says.

"Thanks."

Shepard, Garrus, and Zaeed approach the door leading to an open cell, and Kasumi and I get moving. Shepard opens the door.

"My apologies, Shepard. You're more valuable as a prisoner than a customer. Drop your weapons and proceed into this open cell. You will not be harmed."

"You talked up your noble intentions with this prison. But it turns out you're a criminal like the rest." Shepard says accusingly.

"Activate systems!" Kuril said.

Taking that as the signal, I am able to kill a couple centurions and normal troopers, Kasumi is able to kill a few others as well. I move to cover, draw my two pistols, and switch to armor mode.

"Your lockdown may be delayed, Warden." I say, referring to the 'presents' I left in the ship's systems, and activating them, causing every terminal in a sizable part of the ship to send a massive electrical jolt to their users, enough to knock out an unarmored person, namely the technicians.

"Who are you and were did you- ah, Shepard. It appears I underestimated you and your team." Kuril says shakily after recovering from his shock.

I grin under my mask, and am able to hold off another wave of Blue Suns in the hallway leading to the supermax wing until the rest of the team made it to us.

"Alright. Kasumi and I will work with shadow strikes. We cloak, get behind them, and kill priority targets, hopefully making things easier for you three."

"Works for me. Just leave some for us though." Garrus says.

"Don't worry. I'm not so cruel as to deny you some fun, Garrus." I say.

We arrive in the supermax wing, and see the cryo chamber. I move up to the terminal.

"Hmm. I should be able to make freeing Jack not open every cell in the block. Even if I did free the prisoners to fight the Suns, the suns would win anyway, so it wouldn't matter. Ready?" I say.

"Release Jack." Shepard affirms.

I press a few buttons, and we see a claw pull a restraining unit out of a cryo chamber. On it, rests a bald, tattooed woman who I know to be Jack, As she thaws and wakes up, she begins to strain against her bindings, and using biotics, is able to break them. She then charges at the three YMIR mechs standing near her cryo chamber, destroying them with ease.

"We should get moving before she rips a hole in the hull of this ship." I say.

"Agreed. Let's move!" Shepard orders.

The rest of the mission was uneventful, if you get used to calling prolonged combat uneventful, which most of the squad seemed to do. After the first run of shadow strikes, the mercs figured out what Kasumi and I were doing, forcing us to hang back and fight with the rest of the team. A few YMIR mechs were in there, spicing the fights up, but nothing a good hacking couldn't handle. It was on this mission that I discovered my affinity for wielding dual pistols in a fight, coupled with the power of the phalanx, made killing groups easy, as long as I made my headshots. I also discovered that I was quite the quick draw, after a merc hid from us and survived the main fight, and went to sneak up on us; I was able to draw my pistol and blow his head off in under half a second. I knew I had good reflexes, but not that good, so I attributed it to the suit and its ever evolving symbiosis with me.

The mission became interesting when we got to Kuril's command centre. He had holed up at his station behind a powerful barrier. Seeing an opportunity, I rerouted the power stores of the nanosuit into a massive chain overload, targeting the three shield pylons and any enemy troops who were unlucky enough to be near the pylons when I sent the overload through them.

"Shepard, I can reroute my suit power into a massive chain overload, which can take out the shield pylons."

"Do it, quickly so we can get out of here."

"On it."

I send the overload out, causing the pylons to short out badly, and managing to stun Kuril somehow. Garrus managed to compromise his armor and shield system with an armor piercing shot, allowing for a quick kill by two simultaneous phalanx shots to the head, creating a massive blast of blue blood and brain bits that coated the wall behind where Kuril stood.

We managed to catch up with Jack as she ran through the catwalks to where the Normandy was docked, and witnessed her crush the two guards that Shepard first saw on her way in. She turned to look at the Normandy and noticed the Cerberus diamond on the side. She began to pace back and forth, screaming. She turned to us as Shepard shot a merc down behind her. Jack stepped away from us and into a defensive stance.

"What the hell do you want?" She asked with a yell while pacing back and forth.

"You're in a tight spot, and we're here to get you out." Shepard replied.

"Shit, you sound like a pussy. I'm not going anywhere with you. You're Cerberus."

"Why does it matter if I'm with Cerberus?" Shepard asked.

"They've been on my ass for years. Every time I get free, they put a huge bounty on me. That's why Warden Kuril thought he'd struck big gold when he caught me. It isn't working out too well for him."

"We're here to ask for your help." Shepard said calmly.

"You show up in a Cerberus frigate to take me away somewhere? You think I'm stupid?"

"You know, we could just let you die with this ship. Either you die here, or go with us, and we are even asking for you're help." I say.

"We could knock her out and take her." Garrus suggested.

"I'd like to see you try." Jack retorted.

"We're not going to attack her." Shepard said with authority.

"Good move." Jack said. "Look, you want me to come with you, make it worth my while."

"Join my team and I'll do what I can for you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep. I bet your ship's got lots of Cerberus databases. I want to look at those files, see what Cerberus has on me. You want me on your team; let me go through those databases."

"I'll give you full access." Shepard agreed.

"You better be straight up with me." Shepard nods. "So why the hell are we standing here?" Jack asks.

"Move out." Shepard says.

After the Normandy left dock, Kasumi and I headed back down to the crew deck.

"You did well. I think all that's left for you is some more field experience."

"Thanks for the help Kasumi. I owe you a few. I gotta head back down to engineering." I say stepping back into the elevator. I arrive in engineering and greet Ken and Gabby.

"Anything happen that I should know about down here?" I ask them.

"Nothing, Board is green."

"Alright. I will be in my cabin then."

I decided to sleep a few hours until we arrived at Bekenstein, where we would be for a while while Shepard and Kasumi pulled their heist. Before I get to my bed, I hear the elevator come back down followed by loud stomping. More than likely Jack coming by on her way to the sub deck. I decide to let her be for now.

One hour later

I wake up after a nightmare-free nap, grateful about the nightmare-free part. I remember that the next mission will just be Shepard and Kasumi, so I have a good deal of free time. The problem is, I had nothing planned, no tweaks I wanted to make to any of my stuff, nothing. I checked my console in engineering, and everything was nominal. I decided to see if Garrus had any ideas on what to do with time off, so I got into the elevator and went up. When I arrived, I noticed Garrus was looking bored himself.

"Hey Garrus. You look a bit bored."

"I am. Guns are as calibrated as they are going to get right now, and the next mission will just be Shepard and Kasumi."

"How about some Skyllian Five to pass the time?"

"Sounds fun. Haven't played in a little while."

"Oh, and no visor. I know the kind of readouts it gives you."

"Damn. I was hoping you didn't know."

"I'm an engineer Garrus, and the advertisements for the advantages of the Kuwashii visor are damn near everywhere."

"True enough. Alright. Visors off." Garrus conceded.

Garrus and I played poker for a long while. We had barely finished when Kasumi and Shepard had arrived back from Bekenstein. Shepard made her usual rounds and saw us right at the end of the last hand. I was confident in my chances of winning, my hand being the first royal flush I had ever gotten in the many games of poker that I have played.

"Having fun boys?" Shepard asked while leaning on the back of Garrus' chair.

"Just about to lay our cards down now for the final hand." Garrus said.

"Well, lets see them then." Shepard said.

"You first, Garrus." I said. Garrus laid down his cards to reveal a straight flush.

"Beat that. Best hand I have gotten in a long time." Garrus said, both he and Shepard looking at me expectantly.

I laid down my royal flush. Shepard's eyes seem to pop out of her head, and Garrus' mandibles looked like they were going to fall off.

"What- how- but-" Garrus continued to stutter as he looked at my cards, at his cards, my face, which was adorned with a shit-eating grin, and back to my cards, in a seemingly random order.

"Beat that. First royal flush I have ever gotten."

"Well, good to know that there is still someone who can beat me. Now I have reason to face you more."

"What was the starting bet for the match?" Shepard asked.

"5000 credits each. Pay up Garrus."

"Yeah, yeah. You win. Was a great game though. Closest match I have had in a long time."

Garrus headed back into the main battery to resume his work, while I went up to ask Shepard a question.

"Where are we heading next, Shepard?"

"Korlus, to recruit Okeer."

"You decided the ground team?"

"Yes, and I am letting you take another break. I'm taking Zaeed and Mordin on this one. You and Garrus will figure out something to do, I'm sure."

"Alright. I'm sure we will come up with something."

Garrus and I spent the next few hours telling jokes, stories, and going over plans to install a set of N-88 Thanix cannons to the Normandy. All in all, a few hours well spent. Shepard arrived back from Korlus with Grunt in his tank. The sound of Shepard impacting against a crate in the hold could be heard in engineering, but I wasn't too worried. Then, I remembered that TIM would be calling soon, telling Shepard to go to Horizon, but I could feel something was off. Somewhere and somehow, something felt off. While Shepard spoke with TIM, I asked to see the long range comms console in the CIC and found what was wrong.

A team of Quarians were putting out a distress signal, the origin: Haestrom. I made my way to the comms room to inform Shepard. Apparently Tali had started her mission to Haestrom earlier than in the games for some reason.

"Shepard, Illusive Man." I say as I enter the comms area.

"Ah. To what do we owe your presence?" TIM said.

"I intercepted a distress call from a Quarian team on Haestrom. It mentioned one Tali'Zorah as being part of the team."

"Of all the times for that to happen. We are supposed to go to Horizon." Shepard said.

"I do have an idea though. You can take a team to Horizon, and I could take one to Haestrom. The Far Rim is Geth space though. We would need the Normandy to get there. But, it is only about two relays out from Horizon. Would this work?"

"It could. Problem is, both are very time sensitive, Horizon more so though. Could a shuttle make it from Horizon to Haestrom?"

"A Kodiak should do for that, aside from the lack of IES to get by the Geth. The only way I see this working is if we drop your team on Horizon, then Joker makes a beeline for Haestrom, or the other way around."

"How much time do we have to get to Horizon?"

"As soon as possible would mean the most colonists would be saved, and that you may catch the Collectors. You are in quite a bind. I will let the two of you plan, but please be quick." TIM said before disconnecting.

"Alright. Nick, you will be leading the team to Haestrom. Tali has met you and knows that you are with me. Take Jacob and Zaeed. When Tali is safe, contact us and we will come by for a pickup ASAP." Shepard ordered.

"Yes ma'am." I said.

The next few minutes were quite a blur. A mix of getting everyone ready and in the shuttle. Our flight was uneventful, but tension began to build when we exited the relay in the Dholen system. Sensors showed no Geth in our immediate area, and fortunately, Haestrom was fairly close to the Mass Relay at this point in its orbit around Dholen. We managed to avoid any real confrontation with the Geth and landed safely. As we disembarked, we got comms from EDI.

"Nick, scans from the shuttle show that Tali is somewhere in these ruins, as well as large amounts of Geth activity, and an environmental hazard. Solar radiation has overwhelmed Haestrom's protective magnetosphere. Exposure to direct sunlight will damage your shields, and if shade is not found quickly, major radiation damage is likely."

"Thanks for the heads up EDI. Alright, team. Move out, stick to shade, and if you have to leave shade, run at top speed until you get to some. Between the Geth shooting us, and the sun frying us, we are not likely to come out of this one without some damage."

"Copy that. Even in the shade I feel like my lungs are being burned." Jacob commented.

Moving forward from our landing zone, we sprinted across a long stretch of unshaded ramp.

"Warning: Solar Radiation overloading barrier systems." The suit voice piped up.

At the bottom of the ramp was a control room. I went up to the panel and the journal of a Quarian soldier played.

"Emergency Log Entry: The Geth are here. I've stayed to buy the others time. Anyone who gets this, find Tali'Zorah. She and that data are all that matters. Keelah se'lai."

"Poor bastard died for everyone else. Hopefully we were fast enough to make good on his wish." Jacob said.

"Agreed, but we may be in time. He has only been dead for a short while, under 4 hours." Zaeed commented.

"Good. We may actually save some people." I said.

I entered the command to open the doors to allow us to move ahead. Not far in, a Geth dropship flew in overhead.

"Dropship, incoming!" Zaeed called out.

"Keep to cover, kill them before they put up shields."

Knowing that the Geth could likely see me even if I was cloaked, I activated armor mode and made for cover. The waves of Geth seemed endless. The entire fight became a blur as I began to fight almost on autopilot, calling out orders to Jacob and Zaeed to use their abilities to help take down the hordes faster. It became a game of bouncing between cover, finding where we could shoot best, and taking down as many Geth as we could. After some 15 minutes of careful combat and many dead Geth, we were able to push forward. We moved into a closer quarters alley of sorts, encountering another two Geth. After a short fight and managing to blast their heads to pieces, we heard screaming, Quarian screams. Easy to distinguish the sound of the suit voice outputs. The screams stopped as a pair of Geth stopped firing. The pair was no issue, us having the element of surprise. We moved ahead, coming upon a Quarian communicator.

"Break-Break-Break. OP-1, this is Squad Leader Kal'Reegar, do you copy? The Geth sent a dropship to OP-2. Tali'Zorah's secure, but we need backup. We're bunkered up here. Can you send support?"

I picked up the communicator.

"OP-1, this is Squad Leader Kal'Reegar, report!"

"Squad Leader, this is Engineer Nick of the Normandy, here on the orders of Commander Shepard. Can we provide assistance?"

"How can I be sure that you are with Shepard?"

"Ask Tali about me. I was with Shepard on Freedom's Progress."

A few seconds of silence followed before Reegar responded.

"Tali confirmed you as a friendly. Patch your radio into channel 617 Theta. We were on a high-risk stealth mission. We have what we came for, but the Geth found us. They have us pinned. We can't get to our ship, and we can't transmit data through the solar radiation."

"How are you holding up? We can get to you in a few minutes."

"Take it slow and careful. Sun fries shields to all hell. We're bunkered down at base camp across the valley. I left Tali at a secured shelter, and doubled back to hold a chokepoint. Getting Tali out safely is the top priority. If you can get her out, we will keep them off you."

"You can confirm that Tali is safe?" I say.

"Yes. I left my best men with her. When you get here, you can talk to her over the comm. Every marine on this fried rock is here to protect Tali'Zorah, and we will do that to the last man."

"Hold your position, we are coming the through their back ranks."

"Wait! Watch your ass! Dropship inbound!" Kal'Reegar said as a dropship dropped munitions on what I assumed to be OP-2, but it also toppled a tower that fell and blocked access to our intended route.

"Dammit! Pillar blocked the door. There should be some demolition charges in the buildings close by. Use them to bust open a path."

"Acknowledged. We'll see you in a bit." I say, closing the comms.

"Nick, you will need at least two charges to be able to blast through the pillar." EDI chimed in.

"Not exactly. I should be able to make one work better if I direct its explosion to a small cone, and direct the blast so that instead of simply blasting a hole, it will break the pillar along a weak point, or an existing crack."

"You're the engineer here. You get to work on that charge, we will keep the Geth off you." Jacob said.

"Thanks Jacob, Zaeed."

The charge was of a relatively simple design, easy to modify. Barely took me a minute to do as I needed to do.

"Wait, Nick. You said you intend to break the pillar into pieces. How will we move them?"

"My suit should help there. I just need to climb over the pillar and behind it, and give it a good kick. The suit lets me kick things that weigh a few tons like footballs."

"Damn. Where can I get one of those?" Zaeed asked.

"I don't know where it came from, sorry." I replied. "Setting the charge! Stand back!"

I set the charge, and when we were a safe distance, I hit the detonator. I had managed to do what I wanted. The pillar was broken up into pieces that I could move with the suit, so I followed the plan I had laid out before. The suit taking on a brilliant blue flashing glow as power mode activated, I kicked the large debris out of the way, which took no small amount of effort, even with the suit, allowing Jacob and Zaeed to come through.

We enter a room, laden with old computer panels, and noticed a near dead Geth crawling to us. A quick shot from my phalanx, and it was dead. I went around the room, and found another one of Tali's Journals.

"Our ancestors walked these halls with uncovered heads. The sun must have been normal back then. So much space. Walls of stone. It's amazing. I wish my friends could see it. I wish Shepard were here."

I continued to the next door when a terminal sprang to life with a hologram of Tali.

"Tali'Zorah to base camp, come in base camp. Hello? Is anyone there?" Tali says. I activate the comm system.

"Tali, it's me, Nick. I'm sorry, but everyone here is dead. Any survivors have probably fallen back."

"We knew this mission was high-risk. Damn it. And what are you doing here, Nick? Last I saw you was on Freedom's progress, and Shepard was there."

"Shepard is on another mission. I noticed your distress call on the incoming comms panel on the Normandy. I will explain about the Normandy later as well. We took a shuttle and managed to get here unharmed. The Normandy is about two relays away, but Shepard should be finishing up soon."

"Thanks for coming. It means a lot to hear another friendly voice. Kal'Reegar and what's left of the marines got me into the observatory. From where you are, its through the door and across the field. Be careful though. There may be a lot of Geth drones in the field, and we may have heard a couple of Geth Primes as well."

"Damn. That means that it may take us a while to get to you."

"I have the data I needed, and I should be safe for a while. The observatory is reinforced, and even the Geth will need time to break through it."

"Alright. The door to get out of here is locked, and the panel is busted. Can you open it from where you are?"

"Let me see... yes! OK, should be open now. And, please try to keep Reegar alive if you can."

"We will move as fast as we can, Tali, and I will try to keep him alive." I say as I close the comm.

The field was, as Tali said, full of Geth drones, and there were two Primes. Our trip across the field was a somewhat monotonous one, consisting of shooting down a drone or two, take a shot at the Prime, avoid the fire from the Prime, rinse, repeat. Battles becoming a blur. I am beginning to think that isn't too good. Either way, we made it, not too much worse for the wear. We entered an alcove of sorts, and the exit door was locked. I disabled it at a security console, but that opened the shutters.

"Holy shit! Colossus! Get down!" I yelled as the Colossus fired a massive blast our way.

"Way too goddamn close for my taste." Zaeed called as we moved out of the room.

Heading down some stairs, we got into cover near Kal'Reegar.

"Squad Leader Kal'Reegar, Migrant Fleet Marines. We talked over the comm before the dropship arrived. I can guess that you got our distress call, and this isn't a time to be picky. Tali's inside over there. Geth got the rest of my squad, and they're trying to get to her. Best I've been able to do is distract them."

"She still alive in there?"

"Observatory is reinforced. Even the Geth need time to get in."

"She mentioned that."

"Plus, it's hard to hack a door with someone firing rockets at you. The Geth are near platoon strength, but the Colossus is the worst part. Has a repair protocol. Huddles up and fixes itself, so whatever we do has to scrap that big bastard fast. I tried to move in for a better shot, but I got shot clean through my suit."

"I take it your suit is prepared for any rupture?"

"Yeah. Combat seals clamped down and I'm swimming in antibiotics."

"Any ideas for the Colossus?"

"Just one. I'm not moving so well, but I got a functioning rocket launcher. The standard protocol is to sabotage the shields and whittle down at it. Kill it with bug bites. But the repair protocol blows that to hell, fixes its shields right up. Killing it will likely require getting up close, past the cover. I'll keep it busy, maybe even drop it's shields, while you go in and get Tali."

"Reegar, you've done plenty. Don't throw your life away."

"Wasn't asking your permission. My job is to keep Tali safe."

I pull Reegar back into cover, mimicking what Shepard does in the games.

"There aren't enough of us for you to take one for the team. Stand down, and if you want to honor your squad, watch our backs. We need you here in case reinforcements come in."

"Alright, Nick. We'll do it your way. Hit it hard for me. Keelah se'lai."

"Zaeed, get your sniper. Jacob, watch Zaeed's flank. I got a plan."

I opened the suit visor to get a read on the Colossus. What few weak points it had were small, hard to reach. To test the effectiveness, I charged a massive overload with the suit, and let it go. It was able to take down quite a few standard Geth platforms, and put a fairly good dent in the Colossus' shields, but it would still take a while to kill. But, as long as I kept the supercharged overloads coming, the Colossus would have no shields in under a minute. After another few overloads, I called out to concentrate fire on the base of the head. Just as it began to huddle up, Reegar hit the target with one last rocket, leaving the "head" dangling by a few remaining cables, which I promptly shot apart.

"Didn't think that would work. It likely has backup sensors, but has lost its weapons, and may be confused. Keep shooting it with everything we got!" I ordered. It didn't take long. Without the worry of us getting hit with a blast from it, we could attack it continuously. With the giant finally down for the count, We moved ahead and noticed the door was locked.

"Just a second. I locked the door to keep any more Geth from getting inside. There. That should do it."

The door opened, and we entered the observatory.

"Just let me finish this download." Tali said as I picked up a Geth Pulse Rifle from the ground, intending to bring it back to the Normandy.

"Thank you Nick. If not for you, I would never be able to leave here alive. This whole mission has been a disaster. I wish I could have joined you and Shepard back on Freedom's Progress, but I couldn't let anyone take my place on a mission this risky."

"No small number of Quarians lost their lives here, Tali. Was it worth it?"

"I don't know, Nick. It wasn't my call. The Admiralty Board believed the information here was worth sacrificing all our lives for. I have to believe that they know what's best."

"I never asked what the Admirals thought. I asked what you thought."

"A lot of people died here, some of them were my friends. All of them were good at their jobs. That damn data better be worth it. The price was too high."

"What is the data about, anyway?" I asked.

"Haestrom's star is decaying too quickly. It was a normal star when this was a Quarian colony."

"Any ideas about what's causing this?"

"If I had to guess, I would say dark energy is affecting the interior of the sun."

"Whatever the reason, glad I could help. We could use you on the Normandy once you deliver the data. I could use another engineer on deck 4."

"I promised to see the mission through, and I have. I can leave with you and send the data to the fleet. And if the Admirals have a problem with it, they can go to hell. I just watched the rest of my team die."

"Maybe not the whole rest of your team, ma'am." Kal'Reegar said coming up behind us.

"Reegar! You made it." Tali said.

"Your old captain sure knows how to pick 'em. I don't know how, but Nick here managed to overload the shields of the Colossus in a minute, and was able to find a weak point. Damn thing never stood a chance."

"You need transport Reegar? The Normandy should be by in a while."

"The Geth didn't damage our ship, as long as we get out before reinforcements arrive, we should be fine."

"Actually, I will be going with Nick to the Normandy."

"I'll pass the word along with the data to the Admiralty Board and let them know what happened. She's all yours now, Nick. Keep her safe."

"Don't worry about that Reegar. Also, since offworld comms don't work unless sent through a shuttle, can you bring your ship over so I can contact the Normandy?"

"Sure thing. Will only be a few minutes."

Reegar came by with the Quarian ship, and I tried to hail the Normandy.

"Normandy, this is ground team leader Nick, do you copy?"

"Barely. We are done on Horizon. Status?"

"Ready for pickup, with Tali in tow as well. She's joining us on the mission."

"Roger that, Normandy out. ETA, 20 minutes."

"Well, you heard Joker. Hope you brought something to occupy the time." I said to Jacob and Zaeed as I sat down and began tinkering with one of my pistols. A Geth trooper had managed to land a hit on the pistol, so I began to repair it.

"Reegar said you managed to take down the Colossus' shields in a minute. How?"

"Well, I'd have to explain a bit about this suit first. It has an internal energy supply that recharges through various means. The outer layer can reshape itself into hardened armor scales, or function as a powerful cloak. I redirect the energy pool into an overload, supercharging it."

"How much energy is that?"

"Enough that when in armor mode, the suit can take around eight hits from a Widow anti-material rifle before I am in trouble."

"Wow. I understand how you were able to take down the shields then. Also, how do you get that armor off? I see no clasps or anything of the sort. And how do you command it to change modes without your Omni-tool?"

"It is linked to me mentally. It can only be used by me, and through it, I can speak directly to computers, and it can replay my memories like vids. As for removing it, you'll see when we get back to the Normandy." I say as I return to my tinkering.

"I can't even find words to describe how advanced that must be." Tali said in awe as she looked the suit over.

"Hell. I don't even know where it came from. I can tell you the full story on the Normandy. The shuttle should be here in a few minutes, so grab what you want to bring."

The shuttle arrived, and we had a normal trip back to the Normandy. With a good deal of missions done in a short timespan, Shepard decided to have us take a bit of a break. The plan was some shore leave on Illium before we did more missions. After getting Tali acquainted with the ship and engineering deck, and letting her see how the nanosuit is removed at her insistence, I had returned to my cabin to rest. Killing all those Geth is harder work than it seems. I was woken up from my sleep by EDI.

"What is it EDI?"

"We have docked at Nos Astra on Illium, and Shepard has ordered the ground crew to the CIC."

"Thanks EDI."

I arrived on the CIC to hear a basic briefing from Shepard about what to do and what not to do on Illium.

"Remember, Illium is Omega with fancy clothing. It's no safer here. While wearing our armor may look out of place, better safe than sorry." Was the gist of the briefing. We stepped into the airlock to begin our shore leave.

* * *

**A/N: WOW! 32 pages of story in this one. I will also be uploading chapter 6 soon since this one is coming late.**

**Thanks to Konner N7 for beta-ing.**

**-Jötunn**


	6. Mercs, Matriarchs, and Markets

**A/N: This chapter will be Nick and Tali's adventures in trying to find spare parts and the standard dose of chaos for anyone who is in the crew of the Normandy.**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! BIOWARE/EA OWNS MASS EFFECT! I JUST OWN MY OC!**

* * *

**Illium**

Shepard ordered us to go on shore leave, leaving behind a basic crew to defend the ship as a precaution, and Joker was adamant that he stay with his ship, which left the group of those leaving the ship at Shepard, who went off shopping; Garrus and Jacob headed over to the Eternity lounge; Grunt, who made a beeline for the nearest weapons shop; Jack, who wandered off somewhere; Mordin stayed to monitor his work in the lab; Miranda stayed on the Normandy as well, her reason was beyond me. This left Tali and I. We decided to search the stores for some spare parts and some of the other materials we would need to get some upgrades for the Normandy, namely the parts for an upgrade to Silaris armor, the extra bits for the Thanix cannons, and what we would need for Tali to upgrade our barriers.

"I've never been to Illium. Quarian ships are banned from even coming into orbit here."

"I can guess why." I said while browsing to see what a shop had on offer. "The irony of the view of Quarians being thieves is that if the council had given them support of some kind, they wouldn't have been forced to steal anything. Come on. Nothing we need at this one either."

We had been to over 10 stores in our search for parts, and had been only mildly successful. I had taken note of some of the glares Tali had been receiving. We passed by a few people out on the shopping floor who did no more than a simple look or glare, but with the auditory upgrades the nanosuit provided, I could hear whispers being passed between friends, about why "The human would ever associate with one of those vagrants." Tali noticed my fist clenching, my usual reaction to racism."

"Nick, it's nothing to get upset over." Tali tried to calm me down.

"I know, but I absolutely despise racism. I find it stupid that people

At that moment, a Volus ambled by, and bumped into Tali accidentally on purpose.

"sss-Watch where you are going clanless suit-rat!-sss"

My fists clenched to where you could hear the suit strain slightly.

"Nick, please. I can see that you don't like people being this way, but it's nothing I haven't been called before."

"That still doesn't make it right, Tali."

"I know, but what can we do about it?"

"Fine. You got me there." I say as I approach a kiosk. I notice something.

"Aha! How many of these are in stock?" I ask showing the part in question to the shopkeeper.

"We have eight of them. How many are you buying?"

"I'll take four."

"Um... you may want to cover your pockets. There is a thief behind you." The keeper said under her breath. I knew who she meant, but I decided to play along.

"Thief? I see no thief. All I see is a nice Quarian woman behind me. I fail to see how she is a thief."

"Quarians are all theives. There is a reason their ships aren't allowed on Illium." I had had enough of this shopkeeper.

"Well, since you are so dead-set that all Quarians are thieves, which is untrue, I will gladly make an analogy for you. Calling all Quarians thieves without knowing the one you are insulting is like saying that all pureblood Asari are Ardat-Yakshi, when that is quite untrue. You understand that?"

The Asari stared at me, slack-jawed as I engaged power mode, feeling the suit activate the systems in my muscles, and carried the four parts, two in each arm.

"You didn't need to speak like that on my behalf, Nick."

"I wanted to put what they are doing into words they can understand, and I know it hit home with her. The suit can apparently tell if an Asari is pureblood. How, I have no clue, but it certainly made that more fun, and maybe she will think next time."

"I guess. Where are we going next?"

"Well, we have the parts we need for the upgrades and the spares. I'm going to ask where the rest of the shore party is." I open my comms. "Nick to shore party. Where is everyone?"

"We met back at the Eternity lounge. Where are you?" Garrus responded.

"I'm carrying the last of the parts we went to buy. We will head over to you guys in a bit."

"Copy that. See you soon."

**Illium: Nos Astra: Eternity lounge**

After dropping our purchases off on the Normandy, we headed over to the Eternity lounge, and found the rest of the team in a small room off to the side, having a rather animated conversation.

"I was wondering when you two were going to be done. Did you get stuck in line behind a stingy Volus or something?" Garrus said to Tali and I.

"Not a stingy one, but a racist one did pass us by." I said frankly. "Take a guess at which of us he didn't like."

"To be expected. Still makes you want to kick one to see how far it rolls though." Garrus replied.

"Yeah."

"It's nothing I haven't been called before. It's no problem." Tali said.

"And as I said before, the fact that you are used to it still doesn't make it right, nor does it stop me from getting pissed off about it." I said to Tali.

"I know that." Tali conceded.

"Well, we came here to take time off, not be all gloomy. Get yourselves some drinks and enjoy the time off." Shepard said with a slight slur.

"Sounds like a good plan. Want anything while I'm there, Tali?"

"Some Turian brandy would be fine, thanks."

"No problem. Be back shortly." I say as I walk towards the bar.

"Welcome to Eternity, I'm Aethyta, matriarch and bartender. Can I get you anything?"

"Scotch whiskey for me and some Turian brandy for my friend."

"Alright then. Just a second... here you go."

"Thanks for the drinks."

"That's what I'm here for babe. Get you anything else?"

"This will be fine for now."

"Right. Don't eat the nuts in the red bowls. They're for Turians and Quarians. You'll get cramps."

"Thanks for the warning." I say as I walked back to the room where everyone was with the two drinks and a few glasses.

"Here's your brandy." I said handing the bottle to Tali. "And some scotch for me." I finished as I sat down.

"So. How was everyone's day here?" I ask the group to break the ice.

"It was pretty good. I managed to find a few bits and pieces to upgrade some of our guns with, along with some new parts for my hardsuit." Shepard responded.

"I got some new guns too." Grunt added. "Now if this place just had some ryncol..." He trailed off.

"You make a list of the guns you bought, Grunt?" Jacob asked.

"No, but I think it should be easy enough to make one later." Grunt said back.

"Well, Tali and I did manage to find the spare parts we needed as well as the extra parts to make the upgrades to the Normandy." I said.

"What upgrades did you manage to get parts for?" Shepard asked.

"We got parts to install Silaris armor to the hull, parts for the Thanix cannons, and my cyclonic barriers." Tali explained.

"Were there any other upgrades you wanted to install, or are Tali and I done hunting for parts?"

"None yet, but I will tell you when there is an upgrade I want to install." Shepard finished.

"Good. I have had enough of the shopkeepers' here-" I cut myself off as I notice a red ping on my suit radar.

"What is it? Why did you stop?" Garrus asked.

"Shhh. My suit radar is picking up a potential hostile, approaching us." I say quietly as my helmet closes over my head. Just then, a shot rang out. I activated armor mode and blocked the shot. It was directed at Shepard.

"Scatter! We got hostiles!" Shepard says.

"Already on it. Just a second..." I say as I de-cloak and deliver a powerful punch to the would-be assailant, knocking them down. By then, most of the patrons had fled and Aethyta had come over and was holding the merc with biotics.

"Eclipse sisters. Why am I not surprised." Aethyta says.

"You can have him, Aethyta. There are still more here." I say.

"Not a problem. You six have your fun, just try not to completely destroy Nos Astra while you're at it."

"Can't promise anything there." Garrus replied.

"Grunt, Jacob, you're with me! Garrus, Tali, with Nick. Spread out and find them." Shepard ordered.

"Aye Aye ma'am" I replied.

"We can't even go on shore leave without getting into trouble. I was hoping for a calm day too." Garrus complained.

"Galaxy seems determined to keep us on our toes, doesn't it?" Tali commented.

"That it does. Garrus, what do you know about the Eclipse Sisters?" I say.

"Band of Eclipse composed of Asari. They earn their armor when they make their first kill."

"So expect biotics and the usual Eclipse methods." Tali comments.

"Sounds about right." Garrus affirmed.

"Move out then. We got a job to do." I order.

We spread apart and move ahead to do our own thing. Tali laid down area denial with her drones and related tech. Garrus found a perch with a great view of the battlefield. I cloaked and scouted ahead, painting targets like usual, killing rocket troopers as well.

"Garrus, can you see anything that would tell us where they may be coming in from?" I say over the comm.

"I see trucks coming in at a lower level. I can confirm that Eclipse sisters are being transported in this way."

"What's down at that level?" I ask.

"Don't know. Recommend we move down there." Garrus suggests.

"Affirmative. Tali, send a drone ahead, and report what it finds."

"On it." She said before pausing as she sent 'Chatika vas Paus' down.

"Let's move as the drone scans. Time is wasting."

"Roger that. Give me a second." Garrus said coming down from his perch.

**Illium: Nos Astra: Warehouse**

We moved at a careful pace towards the lower level, and I had begun to worry, since Shepard and her team hadn't checked in at all.

"Lower level is a large warehouse; Eclipse Sisters are all over it."

"Perfect. A chance to really put my stealth to the test."

"What should we do then, Nick?"

"Tali, use your drone and tech to make the Sisters spread apart. Garrus, Force them into cover once they have been split up. When one pokes out, kill them. Keep them scared. I will move in and kill them from there. In the meantime, Shepard hasn't checked in. Try to contact her, Tali."

"Tali to Shepard, come in Shepard. Shepard, do you read?"

"I read you Tali. What is your status?"

"We are moving into a warehouse a few levels down from where we are docked. The Eclipse seem to have a mobile base here."

"Keep in contact, check in regularly." Shepard said to us.

"Will do, Commander." I say.

We arrive in the warehouse, and we all move into position; Garrus having found the perfect spot, and Tali found solid cover. I moved around behind the mercs.

"Tali, use your drone and scatter them on my mark, Garrus, be on standby." I order

"Tech is ready, Nick." Tali said back.

"Now!"

The plan worked well enough. The mercs had dispersed and found cover for themselves. Garrus did as I had said and picked off those who poked out of cover, while I moved in to kill them, starting with the stragglers. I had to move fast, else they would get word to the rest of the mercs. Two were dead in a few seconds, having been stabbed with my omni-blade. The rest were not too much of a challenge, until I slipped up and one managed to get word out that there was an assassin.

"Shit. I slipped up. They know I'm here now, and reinforcements are likely on the way."

"Well, at least you got the better part of them. Now we just have to be more careful." Tali said.

"Just stay on your toes. No telling where they could come from." Garrus added.

"Wait, Tali! Behind you!" I say as I snap my aim and fire at a merc behind Tali. She fell to the ground with a large hole in her head.

"Thank you, Nick. That was too close." Tali said, relieved.

"I'll say. Nice shot though." Garrus complimented.

"Shepard, we may need some support here. They have reinforcement's incoming. How close are you?"

"We can get to you in under a minute. And you will need support. We see multiple trucks with Eclipse on them heading to your location." Shepard replied.

"Please hurry then." I say.

Just then, Eclipse stormed in. I was forced to take cover and switch to armor. Stealth wouldn't work when there are no routes to get behind them without getting shot down. Not too long after, Shepard, Jacob, and Grunt show up. Grunt immediately charges a pocket of Eclipse, sending them flying into a wall. Shepard charges her biotics and charged, ramming into another group of mercs. Those that didn't get hit, were quickly gunned down by Shepard's shotgun. Jacob laid down multiple pulls across the battlefield. All in all, it was becoming quite a bloodbath. After a few minutes of combat, we had finally exhausted the Eclipse reinforcements.

"That is what I call combat. Six of us versus 30 of them, and we still win." Grunt said while bashing his fists together.

"I still would have liked a normal shore leave though." Garrus said.

"Nick, can you search the mobile base for any info on who may have hired them?" Shepard asked.

"Sure. Give me a minute." I respond as I begin searching for the data. Wasn't too hard. "Found a datapad. Let me see..." I begin to scroll through the information. After processing the data, I found no record of who hired the mercs to kill Shepard. "Nothing here on who hired them. Shame."

"Well, with this over, is there anything else that we were going to do here today?" Garrus asked Shepard.

"Not today, but tomorrow, we have two new recruits to pick up here on Illium, and Miranda apparently needs help with something."

Garrus then starts to walk towards the way we came in.

"Alright. Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I think I'm up for some more drinks. Also, Nick, when this all started, you said that you saw a hostile in your suit's radar, right?" Garrus asked.

"Yes, I did."

"How did you see the radar if you didn't have your visor on?"

"The suit HUD is projected right into my optic nerve. The visor acts as eye protection and an advanced visual scanner."

"Wait, so you could have used that during our poker game?"

"The visor is what could have given me those scans, and it is needed to do anything like tell me if you are bluffing. The HUD just gives me the data from the scans, but if there is no visor to take such readings, then the point is moot. I could ask the suit to replay my memory of the game if you want proof. Plus, I have yet to install the body language and reading software that your visor uses." I say back in defence.

"Fine, fine. I wish you had said so sooner though."

"And ruin the fun of everyone seeing the look on your face? Naw. Too good an opportunity to pass up." I say in jest.

"He's got you there, Garrus." Tali said with a slight giggle.

"Damn. I really need to step up my game with you, don't I." Garrus said in mock exasperation.

"Seems like you do. Now, I am with Garrus on getting more drinks. Anyone else?" I ask the group.

Everyone began to follow us, so I took that as a yes.

The rest of day was spent enjoying time off, and eventually, more of the crew came by, namely Mordin, who began to pester me with endless questions about the suit; Zaeed, who came in and proceeded to drink all of my remaining whiskey, much to my chagrin. Miranda also made an appearance, and Kasumi was close by, at least I thought she was.

Somewhere in there, Miranda mentioned that when I was found with the suit, a case of clothing had been found with me. It was what I had worn the day before I was sent here. A plain, grey t-shirt, cargo shorts, which still had my stuff in the pockets, and a pair of workboots. Cerberus hadn't any idea of what to do with them, and so they had been in storage, and were moved to the Normandy. I realized that my old iPod was still in the pockets of the shorts, meaning that with a bit of work, I may just be able to get all my old music downloaded into either my suit or my omni-tool.

My usual post in engineering was going to get a lot less boring very soon.

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**A/N: This chapter was really just a short, filler sort of thing. I wanted to have a day off for the crew, and explain where the hell they got the parts for all those Normandy upgrades besides the minerals, and spare parts are a necessary thing. I also sort of projected my abhorrence of discrimination onto Nick, because racism is stupid. Like Nick said, calling all Quarians thieves is like saying all pureblood Asari are Ardat-Yakshi. It is a bad move to make such broad generalizations without actually knowing the subject(s) of that generalization, and in this case, is racist or generally discriminatory.**

**Zaeed will also get his just desserts for stealing Nick's scotch. It will be gloriously hilarious.  
**

**Read, review, follow, favorite, take your pick.**

**-Jötunn**


	7. Swords, Assassins, and Towers

**A/N:**** Hey there people. I took a while off from writing to deal with life and its shit. School and the like. I also have decided to take my time when writing a chapter. Instead of writing down ideas and writing them out into a chapter in a day or two, I am writing these as I go, a bit every day. It will mean that my release intervals will be considerably longer, but I get more time to work out kinks and write a better chapter. This chapter will see a subplot thickening, and may be a bit shorter than other chapters. I am planning to draw out the next few segments, with more instances of Nick going on missions, and with a few new toys too. What? You thought that I would make his constant tinkering have no impact? HA! Just read to find out.**

******DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! BIOWARE/EA OWNS MASS EFFECT! I JUST OWN MY OC!**

"Speech"

"_Thought_"

"_Computer/VI Speech_"

_**"****Nanosuit voice"**_

* * *

**Normandy: Deck 4: Engineering**

I was right in thinking that my post in Engineering would be less boring with my music. In just a few hours, I had managed to extract all the music and load it into my suit. Working on autopilot with my customized engineering panel interface and my music blasting through the suit helmet's earpieces, I was quite thankful that Miranda had decided to save the case with my clothes in it. I was doing fine with my work, re-balancing systems with Ken after we got the new armor, main cannons, and shields. Just after we had an eureka moment in tweaking the drive core's efficiency enough to support the cannons, I had returned to my console, and un-paused _Psycho Killer,_ I got a message from Jacob and Grunt.

"Hey Nick. We were sorting through the guns Grunt got on Illium, and we found one and have no idea what it is or how it works. Mind coming up and doing whatever it is you engineers do?" Jacob requests.

"Sure. But if I fix it, I get to keep it." I say back, slightly frustrated at one of my favorite songs being interrupted.

"What was that about you keeping what you fix?" Tali asks me.

"Grunt got a weapon on Illium, and neither he nor Jacob have any clue what it is or how it works. I said that if I fix it, I get to keep it."

"I see." Tali says in understanding.

"You're welcome to come up and see it. Just in case we need any of your ideas to get it running."

"I guess I could take a break from work here. We have gotten things in balance again. And, why were you shaking your head up and down before?"

"Human thing. We move our heads in response to the beat of music. I was listening to one of my favorites." I answer.

"What song?"

"You probably wouldn't know it. It's about 208 years old and from Earth."

"Wow. You have old tastes."

"I appreciate modern music, but the classics just have a nice sound to them. I have always had a high appreciation for music, and I actually know how to play 2 human instruments. Come on. I would rather not keep Jacob waiting." I say as I move to the door to go to the elevator.

"Sounds fine. You have any of those instruments with you?" Tali asked.

"No, but that may be something to look into buying on the Citadel next time we visit."

"What instruments are they?"

"They are called a Baritone Saxophone, and the other is a Contrabass Trombone. Both are loud, low pitched, large, and sound amazing."

"You will have to get those and play a few songs for the crew. It would provide some form of entertainment besides Joker."

"That it would." I finished as the elevator stopped on the CIC.

**Normandy: Deck 2: CIC**

"Hi Shepard." I say as we pass by.

"What are you two doing up here?" Shepard asks us.

"Jacob and Grunt have a weapon that is completely foreign to them, and asked us to take a look. My condition was that whoever makes it work first gets to keep it."

"And what if it is useless?" Shepard asked.

"Then I will take it apart and rebuild it so that it isn't. You haven't noticed my workbench in my cabin when you make your rounds about the ship, Shepard?"

"Oh yeah. Forgot about that." Shepard said.

"Exactly. But, I know that Grunt has a good eye for a good weapon, so I am trusting his instincts. Now, to see what they got for us." I say walking into the armory.

**Armory**

"Hey. Was wondering if you were going to get here within the hour." Jacob joked.

"Maybe. I could have stopped for lunch. So, what do you have for me?"

"This right here." Jacob said to me handing me an object that looked like the hilt of a sword.

It was then that I realized that it _was_ a sword hilt, and not just any sword. A Sanghelli energy sword from the _Halo_ games. How and why it came here is a mystery, but it did make me think. It was possible that people and objects were being mysteriously transported to this universe for some reason. I grabbed it and held it like it was held in the games. I came up with a cover story on the spot to keep this and my past a secret a bit longer.

"This shouldn't exist. I thought that all of these were destroyed."

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked with mild urgency. "Is this dangerous?"

"It is a weapon, one that I set out to destroy a while back. Apparently I wasn't as thorough as I thought."

"Mind showing us how it works?"

"Sure thing. Stand back, as in two meters back at least." I say just before activating it.

I don't know how I knew how to turn it on, but I did. Bringing it to bear, I heard the familiar sound I have grown fond of from many hours of playing the _Halo_ series. A bright, four foot long blade of ionized gas extended from the hilt.

"Holy shit. What is that?" Jacob asks

"An energy sword." I reply simply.

"How does it work?" Tali asked with an interested tone in her voice.

"Two words to explain why I can't tell you: Surveillance bugs. This weapon is too dangerous for any more of them to be made. It could cut through the armor of a YMIR mech or, given enough energy, possibly the hull of the _Normandy_."

"Wow. Where does it get power from?"

"Internal cells that once depleted, are gone. The thing becomes non functional. My new plan for it is to try and hook it into my suit, possibly create a secondary energy pool in the suit for this. In short, it's like an omni-blade, only much better. Also looks awesome, don't you think?"

"Can't argue there. It does look cool." Shepard added.

"Well, that was fun, but the core won't be checking itself anytime soon, so I will be heading to deck 3 for lunch, then down to deck 4. Tali, can you run my post while I am eating?" I say as I turn to head towards the door.

"No problem Nick."

"Should I grab you some nutrient paste while I'm there?" I ask.

"That would be nice, thank you." Tali agrees.

"Alright. Time for lunch. I wonder what Rupert has been cooking up today..." I trail off as I head for the elevator.

"Well, if there is one thing that nobody can stop Nick from getting, it's food. And boy does he eat a lot" Shepard said.

"On that, we can agree. At least he pays for our food supplies when we dock." Jacob adds.

Lunch was very good in my opinion. Rupert had a pot of turkey soup for lunch today, turkey soup is coincidentally one of my favorites. I lost track of how many bowls I had after about three. My ability to eat two or three servings of food most people would only have one serving of was often dubbed "having a hollow leg to fill" by my family. God I miss them. It has been almost a month of scurrying around the galaxy, doing small, mundane things and retrieval missions, and others; and I am really missing them. My parents, my little sister, my six cousins, numerous aunts, all my friends, everyone. I had nobody of my old life here. _"No!"_ I thought to myself. _"Don't dwell on that. The more you do, the more you will miss them and the more depressed you will be!"_

Deciding to agree with my conscience, I returned to engineering to resume my shift. I handed Tali the tube of nutrient paste and un-paused _Psycho Killer _and got back to work.

About 3 hours later, I had managed to finish my work on the sword and the suit, with the sword drawing power from a second energy pool in the suit. I was just getting back up to go to my post in engineering to resume my shift when my comm pinged. It was Shepard.

"Yes, Shepard?" I say.

"We are heading back out to Nos Astra in an hour. I'm taking a larger than normal team this time."

"How large are we talking?" I ask.

"It will consist of most everybody we have recruited. We are going to recruit Samara, the Justicar. The area she is in now is heavily populated by Eclipse sisters, and she is hunting them as well. On top of that, I am sending you with the team of your choice to recruit Thane."

"That's a lot of people. I assume the plan is to do what we do best?"

"Sums it up nicely." Shepard replies.

"Well, then just as a heads up, I found that the sword can be hidden by my suit cloak, so expect to see enemies get stabbed from seemingly nowhere. I am going to have a bit of fun with this new toy and the shadow strike maneuver."

"And this is a worry why?"

"Just make sure you don't biotically charge into anyone I am about to kill. I would rather avoid impaling both you and my target as you impact form the charge."

"Oh. Well thanks for the heads up then." Shepard says.

"Not a problem." I finish, while turning to Tali.

"Tali, Shepard wants us ready to head over to Illium. We are going to split up and run two missions at once. I am leading a team to recruit Thane. Enemies will mostly be Eclipse, so I want you there to hack their mechs. I am also going to take Garrus."

"Same team we had when we were ambushed." Tali said.

"We got the job done, and very well I might add. You keep the mechs down or shooting the Eclipse, Garrus keeps them pinned, and I now have a chance to test out my new sword in combination with my cloak."

"If you say so. So, who is this Thane?"

"A Drell assassin. From the intel Shepard got from Liara, Thane is going to kill Nassana Dantius in her towers. We have to catch up to him to ask if he will join us. While the three of us are doing that, Shepard will be leading a team to recruit Samara. Once both teams are done, Shepard will be off to help Miranda with something."

"Big day for us it seems." Tali said.

"Indeed it is." I say before calling Garrus. "Garrus, I'm taking you along to recruit Thane. Meet Tali and I up on the CIC."

"Got it. Will be there shortly." Garrus affirms.

Tali and I get into the elevator and press the button for the CIC. We stop on deck 3 and Garrus steps in. We arrive at the CIC and see Shepard, Zaeed, and Miranda waiting for us. We exit the elevator and head to the airlock. I order the suit to form up as we walk, the sound of my footsteps going from quiet taps to loud _thuds_ as the boots finish assembly, my HUD popping up with new panels as the visor closes over my eyes.

"Ready when you are, Shepard. We go to Seryna at the docks, correct?" I ask to make sure I know where we are going.

"Correct. She shouldn't be too hard to convince." Shepard replied.

"Alright. Gear check, team." I say to Tali and Garrus, and they begin to go through their weapons and supplies to make sure they have everything.

"All set here." Garrus said.

"Me too." Tali added.

"We're ready here Shepard." I say.

With that the six of us step into the decontamination chamber. After the decontamination cycle finished, we headed through the docking tube and back into Nos Astra.

Our walk to see Seryna and the skycar ride to the Dantius towers were nothing to remember in any detail, with the only points of interest being the information Seryna gave us. The plan was the same as what it was in the games, start at the highest accessible level of the second tower, and head up the service ramps until we get to a bridge over to the first tower. The difference here was that Shepard wasn't in charge, meaning that I may not have as easy of a time convincing Thane to come with us, and the method in which I would fight, being a sneaking and stabbing sort rather than a sneaking and sniping sort. The other issue is that if my memory serves me correctly, a fair amount of the spaces in the tower didn't leave much flanking room, even if I was cloaked; reducing the chances of getting to test out my new sword in combat. I was broken out of my train of thought as I felt the skycar land at the second tower.

"Good luck, Sir." Seryna said as she took off and left.

Looking through the massive window, we saw two Salarian workers getting shot down by LOKI mechs, with FENRIS mechs as backup.

"Tali, help me keep the dogs back. Garrus, send an impact round into the group of LOKI mechs. Knock them down."

I received two affirmative calls in return. Garrus' impact round sending the LOKI to the ground, giving us breathing room to shoot the dogs before they came too close and disabled our shields, or in my case, a good deal of the suit. I had yet to devise a way to shield the suit against EMP attacks, meaning I had to be especially wary of the FENRIS mechs. The LOKI mechs never made it back to a standing position before explosive rounds from my pistols rendered them torso-less, piles of limbs and heads. I wasn't expecting my stomach to be pleased with the sight of what these rounds would do to a living target, which was likely to happen soon. After moving up, we found a Salarian who had survived being shot.

"Help!" He said with all the volume he could muster.

"He survived. Will he live?" Tali asked, almost anxiously.

"I can't feel my legs, and my chest is killing me!" The Salarian explained.

"He won't live too much longer without help." I say as I prepare a packet of medi-gel. "Here. This should ease the pain and stop the bleeding, but you will need to see a doctor soon." I tell him as I apply the medi-gel.

"Thank you. I.. I can move again." He said, relieved.

"Who did this to you? You don't look like someone who should be killed." I say.

"We're just night workers. Nassana sent the mechs to round us up, but we didn't hear anything. They just started shooting us." The Salarian said in an upset tone.

"Not even a fair warning? They just arrive and start a bloodbath?"

"Yes. We were too slow. It was horrible. Everyone screaming. The mercs said there was no time; Nassana wanted us out of the way immediately. Then... the dogs. You must find the other workers, help them get out alive."

"We're looking to get up to the penthouse. Do you know how we can get there?" Tali asks in a polite, calm voice.

"Take the service elevator to the upper levels. From there, take the bridge to the other tower. The bridge is not finished, but you can make it if you are careful. The mercs are everywhere. Hordes of them. The further up you go, the more you will find." The Salarian replies, answering two questions.

"Why would Nassana kill her own workers?" Garrus asks.

"To her, we are expendable, but I never realized she was _that_ ruthless. My friends, coworkers, slaughtered! They were jumping off ledges to escape the dogs!"

"Get to safety, my suggestion would be to get out of Nos Astra entirely. Off-planet if you want to. We will save any other workers we come across." I say to the Salarian.

"Thank you. I will never forget this kindness" He said as he limped away.

"Come on. My urge to see Nassana dead just got a lot bigger." I say, spitting Nassana's name. I say as we start moving.

"Can't say I don't agree with you, Nick. Takes a special kind of heartless to do something like this." Garrus comments.

"I wonder if she will either run, try to bribe us, or a combination of both. If she runs, I don't think she could outrun Chatika. If she tries to bribe us, I may just be tempted to introduce her to my shotgun."

"Well, I'm glad to see that I'm not the only engineer who knows how to kick ass." I say jokingly.

"Maybe you two can change the reputation of engineers everywhere from being weak 'eggheads' as you humans say to being ass-kicking eggheads." Garrus jabbed.

"It's better than just being eggheads." I say back.

"What does 'egghead' mean?" Tali asked, confused with human marine slang.

"Egghead is human marine slang for engineers and scientists, usually used in a joking manner."

"Oh, good. If it was a serious insult, I would have had to introduce Garrus to my shotgun."

We all had to try very hard to restrain our laughter, lest any mercs hear us. As we approached the next area, we took cover; I began relaying a plan.

"Garrus, Tali, stay down here. I am going dark. Your HUDs will pop up with markers for every target my visor paints. Also, for good measure, I am sending a code to your omni tools that will allow you to see my location when I am cloaked. Targets that show up with a crosshair icon are for you Garrus. Mechs will be marked with a gear, hack as many as you can, Tali. Targets with a simple dot icon are of lower priority. I will mark targets I intend to take down quietly with a special icon." I say as I send Garrus and Tali the program code for my visor target reads and my locater. "The signal to attack will be a small green flash on your HUDs. Stay in cover until you see it."

"Understood. Crosshair targets first." Garrus said while nodding.

"And gear marked mechs first here." Tali said.

"Alright, team. Going dark." I say as I activate my cloak and bring the sword to the ready, but not activating it.

Moving quickly, I managed to get to a point behind their rear ranks, tagging them as I went. I began to appreciate the suit working through orders from my brain. I could look at a target and the suit would check the criteria for each type of target marker based on my memories and knowledge, meaning that I didn't have to place the tag, then change what type was displayed. I also made a mental note to thank Kasumi for her tips again. Once I had every merc tagged, I sent the signal. Almost immediately after, I saw a merc's head explode, and the mechs turned and began shooting the Eclipse. Getting out of cover, I activated the sword. First field test began as soon as I ran it through an Eclipse vanguard, and it left almost no blood, cauterizing the wound almost instantly. The mercs never got a chance to even contemplate figuring out what hit them before they were dead, and Tali had sent the self destruct command to the mechs.

"Great work. Check the bodies for anything of use. While I don't like stealing, especially from the dead, Cerberus isn't exactly paying us much, so we will have to make do. Take any spare clips too." I say.

Our search was simple. They came prepared with numerous containers of thermal clips, and they had a few credit chits with what was likely their pay for today. Moving ahead, we went through a door, which opened on to a ramp, leading to yet another door. On the other side of the door, we heard voices from the inside of a vent.

"Hey! I think he went in here." A male voice said.

"Well, go get him." An impatient female voice replied.

"You go." The man said again.

"Get your ass in there. Nassana is not paying you to stand around."

"Fine, but I-" The male voice was cut off as we heard the sounds of bones being broken, and flesh ripping. Not a second later, a mangled Eclipse merc fell out of the tube and landed in front of us.

"Looks like we have caught up to the assassin." Garrus noted.

"Seems like it. Let's keep moving." Tali suggested.

We then heard a voice ahead of us, calling out an intruder alert.

"Not enough room for me to flank them. Looks like I'm with you two." I say as I notice the lack of flooring that would provide me room to flank. Taking cover, I drew my pistols, as mercs poured in. The fight was long after that. Mercs seemed to flow endlessly from the long, narrow halls of this floor. While the choke points made picking them off easier, it made advancing much harder. After close to 10 minutes of near-nonstop combat, we had finally cleared the floor out. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice an orange door panel. I walk up and bypass the lock, to reveal a few more Salarian workers.

"Please! Don't kill us! We'll go! We'll go!" One said in fear.

"Hey, look! They're not Eclipse." A second said. Turning to me, he continued. "You're here to help us, right?"

"That's one of the reasons we are here. You can come out. The coast is clear." I say while signaling for Tali and Garrus to lower their weapons.

"Thank you. We are in your debt." The first Salarian said.

"What is your main reason for being here anyway?" The third Salarian asked.

"We're looking for someone. He's an assassin who is here to kill Nassana."

"Well, whoever sealed us in here. When we saw him, we thought we were dead, but he just shoved us in here and locked the door."

"Locked you three in here? Sounds like the assassin was trying to keep you safe." Tali noted.

"Well, best of luck to him. Nassana has it coming. You treat people like this, it always comes back to bite you in the ass." The second Salarian said.

"I take it Nassana isn't your favorite person?" Garrus asks.

"She's a... hard woman to work for." The first Salarian says.

"That's an understatement. She works us long hours, no overtime, and this is what you get in payment." The third Salarian says.

"She's unpleasant; to say the least."

"Why haven't you quit then?" I ask.

"We would if we could."

"What's the holdup then?" I ask in return.

"Our contract. We're stuck until the job's done. Quitting for any reason can be hazardous to your health." The second Salarian says.

"We hear that anyone who leaves early tends to disappear. Probably just a rumor." The third Salarian says.

"But who wants to find out for sure?" The second asks.

"Well, I wouldn't stay too long. It should be safer on the lower floors. You can get out that way."

"Thank you again. Let's go everybody!" The first says.

"And tell your assassin to aim for her head. 'Cause she doesn't have a heart!" The third says as he leaves.

"From what I have seen, that is not an untrue assessment." I note.

"Agreed." Tali said.

"Well, we can't do much in the way of stopping her while standing here. We should call that elevator, and take cover. They probably have people waiting to come down and ambush us in it." Garrus says while moving to the door.

"Most likely. Tali, Garrus, take cover. I will see which of them I can get with my sword first up here." I say as I walk to the door.

If my memory serves me right, there will be two Eclipse engineers and a Krogan with shields and armor. He takes priority, so I will make sure to get him first. If I fail, I am in for one nasty hit.

"_Mezzanine. Have a pleasant stay._" The door VI says as the elevator arrives.

I hear a gruff, Krogan voice call out orders as the door opens. The two engineers go past me, and that is when I move in. I know that cloak would be fairly pointless at this range given that Krogan have strong senses of smell. De-cloaking, I switch to the boosted armor setting and engage power mode, taking a somewhat noticeable dip into my suit energy supply. My sword already active, I move at almost blinding speed to the Krogan. As I was moving, I remembered reading Thane's dossier from the Shadow Broker DLC, and his methods for killing Krogan in hand-to-hand combat. I thank the suit for being able to call up any memory in my brain, as I brought up Thane's method. Deactivating my sword, I entered a fighting state reminiscent of the fight scene in the _Sherlock Holmes_ movie, I move while repeating the steps in my head.

"_Top approach, double-strike to eye ridge, slide down between blinded target's rising arms, precision nerve strike to throat, secondary nerve strike to counter blood rage, quad-kick to bend target, grip each side of skull, running leaping spinning neck-snap._" It was over before I realized, the Krogan lay dead on the floor.

Tali and Garrus, having finished up with the engineers a while ago_, _stare at me in a mixture of awe, shock, and a tiny bit of confusion.

"How... how did you do that?" Garrus asks.

"I'll tell you the story later. All that matters is that I can say I have fought two Krogan hand-to-hand and won both times, and you haven't." I say, teasing Garrus.

"Wait, you did that once before now?" Tali asked.

"Yes, he did. Although with less finesse last time. He jumped down from a balcony and caved in Garm's head." Garrus confirmed.

"Garm?" Tali asked again.

"Former leader of Omega's Blood Pack, and a battlemaster too." I say.

"Wrex would love to hear that, a human with the gall to face down a Krogan with his fists." Garrus added.

"Wrex?" I say to keep up my charade.

"One of the ground team on the original _Normandy_, and a battlemaster as well. Biotics and all." Tali explains.

"Oh yeah. I was wondering where I had heard his name before." I reply. "While I enjoy chatting, we should keep moving, and I may ask more about Wrex back on the _Normandy_."

We entered the elevator and hit the button for the highest level. It was as fast trip, something I was thankful for, given the multitude of elevators that were described as painfully slow that Garrus and Tali sometimes mentioned in passing. We arrived at the top of the elevator to see a merc captain talking over his radio. We approach him from behind.

"Turn around very slowly." I say in a cold, menacing tone. He turns around and jumps back a bit when he sees me.

"Damn it." He says simply.

"Have you seen an assassin anywhere?"

"Why are you lookin' for him. You're not one of Nassana's mercs. Who are you?"

"Who we are is of no importance. Answer my questions and you get to leave." I say in the same tone.

"Look pal. Even if I did know, why would I ever tell you?" I draw my sword here and hold it to his neck.

"Not anything close to the answer I was looking for _pal_."

"You think that glowing kids toy is supposed to scare me? You kill me and my team will swarm you." To make a point, I cut a hole in the glass behind him with the sword.

"Is a little information worth getting impaled over? Is Nassana worth it?" I say darkly.

"... No. I suppose not. Okay look, last I heard, the assassin was down on the mezzanine, but the teams on the bridge think they might have spotted him. Nobody knows for sure."

"Get out of here and find a better job while you're at it." I say.

"I'm going; I'm going!" He says as he leaves quickly.

"He definitely owes you one. Anyone else would have run him through as soon as they drew the sword." Garrus says.

"Well, I am not anyone else, and I do hope he reconsiders his choice in job. Merc life isn't exactly safe, especially since everyone we are after seems to be hiring these merc bands in large numbers." I reply.

"Sounds like it could make a great poster on why to _not_ join the terminus merc groups." Garrus says. We share a short laugh at that as we move ahead. I remember to pick up the Kirosa generational archive for the Salarian at the dock. The next area was perfect for me. Wide open with plenty of flanking room. Cloaking and drawing my sword in one hand and my heavily modified phalanx in the other, I moved ahead, Garrus and Tali had seemingly memorized the drill. As the mercs came in, I waited for the perfect moment. Finding it, I impaled one that was armed with a Viper sniper, deactivated my sword, and used my free arm to hold up the dead merc's body as an extra layer of shielding. One shot later, a merc vanguard fell down with a large hole where her chest should have been, the others falling quickly to our combined fire. I picked up the Viper and tossed it to Garrus.

"Hey Nick, I have never seen that kind of impact round before. Where did you get it?" Garrus asked confusing my high explosive rounds for impact shots.

"Not concussive blasts. High Explosive. You see the attachment on the barrel of the pistol? As the bullet leaves the main barrel, the attachment coats the bullet in a nanometer thick layer of a very volatile substance, the exact chemical make up of which I am net sure of, even though I put it together myself."

"You think you could make a version for my rifle? That could turn a M-98 Widow from an anti-matériel rifle into a long range anti-matériel grenade launcher."

"Sure thing. I can do it once we return to the _Normandy_." I say as I move over to another sealed door. Opening it, I see three more Salarian workers. One of them draws a Shuriken SMG and points it at me.

"Get back! Get back! I'll shoot!" He says, terrified.

"Hey. Calm down. We won't hurt you." Tali says while motioning for us to lower our weapons. We oblige.

"I don't want to shoot anybody, but I will! I said get back!" The Salarian says, still terrified, but focusing on me. I was sure my large size and rather imposing figure would be a problem at some point, and I was right. "Please. Don't make me do it." He said, with defeat tinging his voice. I decide to seem a bit less intimidating by retracting my visor and face mask.

"She wasn't lying. We want to help you get out of here. We're not the bad guys here. What's your name?" I ask, calmly and in a kind tone.

"I- I'm Telon. Don't... don't come any closer." He says, less scared now.

"Telon, we are part of Commander Shepard's crew. We don't work with the mercs, and we don't want to hurt you. We're here to help." Garrus says.

"I... alright. Here." Telon says, handing me the weapon. "I don't feel so-" Telon starts but falls down. I move quickly and catch him, and let him down gently.

"Telon!" Another Salarian says, running up. "He's my brother. I just want to see if he's alright." He says, crouching down to check on Telon. "Are you the ones who.. shot that merc?" He asked us.

"I don't think it was any of us. Telon didn't do it?" I say back.

"No. Telon was standing here with me." He answered.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Tali asked.

"The merc found us, and shouted at us to move. We panicked, and he shouted more. I was sure he was going to kill us, then, his head just exploded. Telon picked up the merc's gun, but we were too afraid to leave. Then you showed up."

"A perfect headshot. No collateral damage too. Very impressive." Garrus noted quietly.

"I have a question to ask; how safe is the bridge out there?" I say.

"The bridge is stable, your real problem is the wind. If it doesn't throw you off, the mercs will certainly try. There's a lot of them out there." He replied.

"Thanks for the information. We will be on our way. There are still mercs on the upper levels. Going down is your best bet." I say.

"No need to convince me. Telon, come on, get up." He says to Telon, who stands up again.

"Can we go home now?" Telon asks.

"Yeah, we're getting out of here." He says as Telon and the other Salarian leave. Turning to us and bowing, he says "Thank you."

We leave the alcove and move ahead, and I stop to use a panel.

"It's about time. What's going on down there?" Nassana yelled through the terminal.

"I am deeply sorry, but your men are quite indisposed right now, Nassana." I say with no small amount of venom.

"Damn it!" She says before closing the connection.

The next few areas are ones that I remember quite well from the games. Long and narrow, little breathing room, so I stuck with Tali and Garrus behind cover, popping out to blast a few people after overloading their shields. The balcony on the outer edge of the building was tricky, having little cover and quite a lot of mercs lined it, one of them a commando, having a barrier and armor. Cleaning out the other mercs there was fairly simple, until we got to her. Deciding to move quickly before she deployed warps, I cloaked and moved as close as I could, before changing to armor, and leaping over the truck she was using as cover, sword drawn. She was only surprised for a second before the sword tore through her. I could feel a slight retch in my stomach looking at her mangled remains, it still not being fully used to seeing such things. We pressed forward in the interest of time, this mission had really begun to draw out to me. The bridge was much like the balcony except the part about the wind and it being narrower than the balcony. Mercs flowed in and out of cover, some even having rocket launchers, making for some interesting moves to dodge and manage to stay on the bridge. It was a longer fight than I anticipated, the ending being the worst as around 3 vanguards attacked us at once. Dodging warps on a narrow bridge is harder than it sounds.

We had finally made it to the penthouse, and Nassana.

"I don't recognize you..." Nassana said while pointing at me. "...but I do recognize you two. You are of Shepard's crew. I thought she died." She said pointing to Garrus and Tali.

"She got better." I say.

"And now she sent you here to kill me." Nassana said as her bodyguards took aim and reloaded.

"So paranoid. Paranoid to kill all your workers with no warnings." Garrus says coldly.

"Don't patronize me." Nassana said with equal venom.

"Charming attitude." Tali says. "May be why there are people out to kill you, but that is not our purpose for being here."

"I'm sure Shepard found this very ironic. First she took care of my sister, and now she sends attack dogs to kill me. Well, now I know why that ambush team didn't respond. You made it this far, now what?" She says, revealing that she had sent the team to ambush us at the Eternity lounge.

"Do you honestly still think Shepard sent us here to kill you?" I say with a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Do you have another reason for destroying my tower, decimating my security?"

"We're just looking for someone." I say calmly.

"You expect me to believe that? Is it credits? Is that what she wants? Just tell me your price, and we can make this problem go away." Nassana says, believing that a bribe would send us away.

"All the money in the galaxy won't stop this problem, Nassana." I say in the same calm tone, hearing Thane approach in the vents.

"And just who the hell gave you the right to play god? I may not be perfect, but look at you. We both kill people for money. What's the difference?"

"You kill people because you think they're beneath you, in your way, as if they are nothing more than a bit of trash on your boot. We kill people when they leave us no choice." Tali says with venom.

"And who said you could speak, _suit-rat_! Last I checked, this conversation was between myself and _tin-man_ here. And you have a choice. You don't have to do this. I can tell you-" Nassana says, jabbing at both Tali and I, the moniker _tin-man_ making me laugh in my head at the inadvertent _Crysis 2 _reference. She was cut off by a bodyguard. "What?" She said upset.

"I heard something." The commando said.

"Damn it. Check the other entrances." Nassana ordered. "You three, stay put. When I'm finished dealing with this nuisance, we are going to... What-" Nassana was again cut off, but this time by her guards being quickly killed behind her. As she tried to take aim, her arm was stopped, and Thane put a merc's pistol to her chest, and fired. He laid Nassana down on her desk, gasping to her final breath. He stepped back and began to pray.

Deciding to be considerate, I told Tali and Garrus to lower their weapons and wait for him to finish, remembering how I found Shepard interrupting Thane in the games to be rude. He finished his prayer and spoke.

"Thank you for your silence. Prayers for the wicked are not to be forsaken." Thane said calmly.

"A prayer for her, or you?" I ask, equally calm.

"For myself. You are very perceptive, more so than most humans. The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone. Take you three and Shepard for instance. All this destruction, chaos. I was curious to see how far you'd go to find me. Well, here I am. And I noticed you take down the Krogan. Where did you learn that method?" Thane says.

"Very detailed knowledge of Krogan biology. How did you know we were coming?" I reply.

"I didn't. Not until you marched in and started shooting. Nassana had become paranoid, believing that one of her sisters would come to kill her. You saw the strength of her guard force. You were a valuable distraction."

"Clever. Adapting to the situation that we caused." Garrus noted.

"A necessary part of this profession. Now, you have certainly fulfilled your end of the bargain. What would you like to discuss?" Thane asks.

"You know of the Collectors?" I ask.

"Yes. Attacking them would require passing through the Omega-4 relay. No ship has ever survived."

"Well, they have been abducting human colonists in the Terminus. And we are working on a way to go through it and live."

"They did tell Shepard it was impossible to get to Ilos as well." Tali notes.

"A fair point. Shepard and her crew have made a name in doing the impossible." Thane replies. "This was to be my last job. I'm dying. Low survival odds don't concern me. The abduction of your colonists does. " He finished.

"My guess is Kepral's syndrome." I say.

"You would be correct." Thane answers simply.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Tali asks with some concern for her crewmate's wellbeing. I figured it was a Quarian thing, others first.

"Giving me this opportunity is enough. The universe is a dark place. I'm trying to make it brighter before I die. Many innocents died today. I wasn't fast enough, and they suffered. I must atone for that. I will join Shepard's crew, no charge." Thane says, shaking my hand.

With that, we proceeded to go back down to where Seryna had dropped us off, and found a skycar, which we took back to the docks. I delivered the Kirosa generational archive to the Salarian there, and we headed back to the Normandy, Shepard's team having finished their mission some time ago. I stopped in the Armory with Garrus to install the explosive mod to his Viper before heading down for a meal, and after that, back to my station in Engineering.

* * *

**A/N****: This took a lot longer to write than I thought, just over two weeks in total. As I mentioned before I am going to update less often now,with more time spent thinking out what missions will be done, and including a bit more on ship interactions between Nick and the crew when he is not on the ground or the Normandy is in transit from one location to another. Also, I made a new cover for the story, guess the fonts and where they're from.**

**Beta'd by Konner N7**

**-Jötunn**


	8. The (not so) coming overlords Part 1

**A/N: Why hello again people. I took a nice long break from writing since term 3 of school was ending, and I was making a mad dash to finish any missed work. Now that that has passed, I can get to writing this. The title of this chapter should make the contents rather obvious. I am also going to use this chapter and the next one to reveal another few things about Nick and his past. Thanks for all the reviews and support of this new writer so far. I'd bake all of you cookies, but I haven't the slightest idea where you live. Now, forward unto the story!**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT MY OC! BIOWARE/EA OWN MASS EFFECT!**

"Speech"

_"Thought"_

_"Computer/VI Speech"_

_**"Nanosuit voice"**_

* * *

**Normandy: Deck 4: Engineering**

The past week after Tali, Garrus, and I recruited Thane had been uneventful. Most of it was spent docked as we installed the upgrades to the ship and got all the engineering systems rebalanced. We are now in transit again, on our way back from Zorya after Zaeed's personal mission. Shepard chose to save the workers, much to Zaeed's anger. Vido didn't escape however. Joker hit Vido's ship with a torpedo as it tried to leave the system. Zaeed had calmed down after hearing the news.

Right now, I was at my station in Engineering, with The Clash playing in my ears, and the sound of Gabby and Ken having one of their usual "discussions" caught my attention.

"So, Kenneth, did you know we've got a crazy woman squatting down in the sub-deck?" Gabby said.

"What!? If she touches anything, I'll kill her!" Ken responded angrily.

"Oh, and the only thing she wears from her waist up is tattoos."

"Oh! Maybe I should go down and welcome her aboard." Ken said in a voice that bordered on sultry.

"And she's a murderer. Has biotic powers that could crush you with a blink. Hates everyone in Cerberus." Gabby explained.

"Damn it, girl! Stop toying with me!" Ken said in exasperation.

At that point, Tali began to laugh at them, and I couldn't help but chuckle at it. I decided to make them squirm a bit.

"Come on, you two! Get a room and take your lovers' quarrel somewhere private. You already bicker like an old married couple." I say in a humorous tone.

Gabby and Ken splutter and try to form a coherent response, while Tali goes from laughing to full on guffawing at the two of them as they blush like teenagers and try to retort. Tali then collapses to the floor as she laughs. As Gabby and Ken turn back to their work, their blushing having gone almost nuclear red, I move over to help Tali up from her laughing fit.

"You could give Joker a run for his money!" Tali says in between laughs.

Tali's laughing subsided soon after, and work returned to normal. Nothing new happened until Shepard paged the ground team members to the briefing room.

* * *

**Normandy: Deck 2: Briefing/Comm Room**

Tali, Jack, Grunt, Zaeed, and I stepped off the elevator and made our way to the briefing room, where we saw the rest of the ground team waiting for us. The meeting was held so that Shepard could explain the plans for the near future. Before we left though, she made her final statement on what I remember from the games to be probably the saddest DLC in the entire mass effect series, Overlord.

"The final note for this meeting is on our next mission. I got word from TIM that a Cerberus experiment on the planet Aite in the Typhon system in the Phoenix Massing cluster has gone dark. He didn't specify what was happening there, but he said that it must be seen to urgently, and the bring team members experienced in tech. We will be arriving at Aite in three hours. I am going on the ground with Nick, Tali, Grunt, and Jack."

I knew what was to come, and I realized something. I may be rather vulnerable to David's hacking. I decided to make some preparations before we arrived. I was going to test the upgrades I made to the nanosuit AI system, along with the name I address it by, Nomad. Suiting up, I set to work.

"Nomad, activate system hacking firewalls, expect hacking attempts from a computer controlled by a human."

_**"Acknowledged. Initializing firewalls and countermeasures."**_

I also decided to make a final precaution, one that I had devised for possible situations like this. I went to speak to Tali.

"Nick? Do you need something?" Tali asked after I got her attention.

"Tali, I have something for you. Something important." I replied

"What is it?"

"An override command for my suit. A safety system should it get hacked somehow. It will disable the suit, and it has a system to purge the suit computer of viruses in such an emergency. I am sending the code to your omni tool, keep it safe."

"Why... why are you trusting me with this?"

"Because if my suit gets taken over, I would become a massive risk. The Illusive Man said to bring techs on this mission, and that worries me. Usually, techs are not specifically asked for unless the mission involves some kind of computer, and knowing the kind of experiments Cerberus does, this computer or VI could have gone rogue. If I am right, I want you to be able to shut me down before I cause too much damage if I am hacked." I say while working to keep my knowledge of the future hidden.

"... Alright. You do have a few good points there. I will take the override system and hold on to it."

"Also, you must keep the override from getting into Cerberus hands. For them to have that and be able to control me and the suit would be a major issue." I added.

"Of course." Tali affirmed.

"Thanks Tali."

"Anytime."

With that matter settled, I went to the mess hall for lunch. In my time as a member of the ground team, I had learned that going on a mission on an empty stomach was a very bad idea, and the fact that with the high grade provisions, Rupert could make some of the best meals I have ever had in my life, so there was little reason to not eat before going groundside.

About an hour before the mission, I was helping some of the crew sort some of our new cargo in the hold, when one of the crew tripped and fell, dropping a weapons crate, which opened as it hit the deck. Helping her off the floor, I told her to get another crate, and that I would clean up the spilled weapons and ammunition. As I was picking up the contents, I noticed something. A familiar compound bow, with multiple boxes of each type of arrow around it.

"This... why is this here?" I muttered as I picked up the Predator Bow from Crysis 3. "Huh. It's like the Halo Energy Sword. The fact that the bow, the sword, the suit, and I got transported here may be more than coincidence. Whatever the reason, I have not seen any possible causes for this to be happening yet, but something tells me that I will, and there could be dire consequences. I ponder as I unfold the bow, then collapse it again and place it on one of the suit's magnetic holsters and continue to pick up the crate's contents, keeping the boxes of arrows for myself, placing them on the magnetic ammo holders on the suit. "I should get an ammunition vest or a harness of some kind. I only have so many magnetized spaces on this thing." I add to my list of things to buy.

After that, I continued to assist in taking stock of our cargo until the mission began. Shepard was the first to notice the bow attached to the suit.

"Nick, what is that you have?" Shepard said, pointing to the bow.

"This? A new toy. A compound bow designed to be used by me while in the suit. Has enough kinetic energy to stop a charging Rhino dead, and has four types of arrows. Main one is a carbide impact head, old-fashioned, but works. Next is a EMP head. If someone is standing in water and I shoot the water, the shock is enough to drop them. Third is a thermite HE arrow, that when it embeds in a target, it starts a short countdown to an explosion that could cripple a Mako if the shot is placed right, and finally an airburst fragmentation head. Should be easy to figure out what that does." I reply.

"Seems a bit old fashioned. Wouldn't that have trouble penetrating armor, let alone barriers and shields?" Shepard asked.

"Barriers and shields are used to stop supersonic projectiles. These arrows are subsonic, meaning that barriers and shields are more likely not going to detect the arrows in the first place. As for armor penetration, I just need to aim for weak points in the armor, like the neck or in between the solid plates, but if I am correct, it should be able to punch through most armor, well, probably not Krogan armor. The best part of the whole thing is that it is nearly silent. With it, I am basically an invisible hunter." I explain.

"Well, seems impressive for such an old type of weapon." Tali notes.

"That it does. And you have the perfect chance for a field test too." Shepard says.

By the time the conversation was over, we were already halfway from the Normandy to Hermes station, the beginning of this little planet of horrors.

* * *

**Phoenix Massing Cluster: Typhon System: Second Planet _Aite_: Hermes Station Landing Area**

We dropped onto Hermes station, and entered the lobby, and moved fast. Pushing forward through numerous lines of glowing green Geth, we made it to the satellite dish control. As Shepard retracted the dish, it stopped, and I heard the familiar garbled words I came to associate with this mission.

_"QUIET PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP!"_

I shuddered as I heard the chilling phrase of an autistic person in pain. Overlord always hit close to home with me because I am autistic, but I had people to guide me in having a social life. I decided to break that train of thought and save it for Dr. Archer at the end. I was damn sure I would have a nice rant for him later.

The mission was just as I remembered it. Hordes of Geth, room after room of them. We got to the final room before the tram to the dish, when I decided to split away from the main group to give my bow and abilities as a silent hunter to the test.

"Commander, I will go alone to the dish. You three go and find Archer." I say as we get to the tram station.

"Really? You want to go out there with no backup? Why?" Shepard asked, voice laden with confusion.

"Think about it. The fastest way to stop the VI is to simply blow up the dish. With that logic, which of us is more likely to survive blowing up a dish like this?" I reply, stating facts.

"Are you completely sure you don't want at least one of us as backup?"

"Yes. I'm completely sure. Plus, I can field test my bow and my abilities. I haven't had much chance to fully put the stealth systems through their paces." I say as I unfold the bow.

"...Alright. Seems like there is no convincing you otherwise." Shepard said hesitantly.

"I'll rendezvous with you four at the main room of the station when this dish is a pile of scrap metal and rubble." I say as I move into the elevator.

Shepard POV

"Do you think he will be all right, Shepard?" Tali asked.

"Anybody who my Battlemaster trusts to do a mission alone is strong enough to make it. Why would she let them go without a krantt if they weren't?" Grunt said.

"Not the way I would have put it exactly, but yes. I would have sent one of you if I didn't think he could make it." I said.

Nick POV

I entered the elevator and activated the panel to take me to the maintenance catwalk. When the elevator arrived, I switched the bow to heavy draw weight and activated my stealth systems.

_**"Solar energy sufficient to extend use of stealth systems by 45%. Tactical options available."**_ The suit informed me.

"Good. That gives me a ton of time under cloak. Enough to plan my assault." I said as I opened the full visor scan. I could take the easy route along what of the catwalk was still intact, or take the quiet route and skirt the edges, changing general location every time I make a kill. I remembered that the numbers of Geth on this part of the catwalk is fairly minimal. The first Geth popped out of the alcove it was in before, and I remained undetected. I drew back on the arrow, and let it fly. The arrow hit the Geth right in the optic, ripping most of its 'head' off in a mangled mess of cables and sparks. This alerted its compatriots, and their optics began searching for me, and found nothing. They activated their shields, and I noticed that one was a Geth Destroyer. I could send a thermite arrow at the firestorm fuel tanks on its back, and possibly send the entire Geth squad into oblivion. Loading the thermite arrows, I lowered the draw weight to medium to keep the arrow's speed low enough that the shields would not deflect it, and fired. It landed on the shoulder of the destroyer, close enough to the tanks. A few seconds later, a massive explosion rang out, as Geth debris and white 'blood' spattered everywhere.

I took the time to decloak and fully recharge, knowing that the next wave of Geth wouldn't be for a minute or two. When I made it to the final catwalk, I decided to take the fast route and simply send a few thermite arrows at the Geth on the other side, ending them quickly. David let out an enraged bellow in his garbled voice over the intercom. It was here that I realized that I didn't bring any remote-detonated explosives that I could simply set, get clear, then hit the button, and watch from a safe distance as the dish became a pile of scrap. I decided that more thermite arrows would do the trick. I knew that the next room was one that I could easily bypass without them ever seeing me, so I decided to be quick and quiet.

When I arrived in the main dish, I moved over to the edge nearest to the tram station so that I could jump off quickly. Running a remote hack through the small, isolated maintenance panels that lowered the protective gates, I fired three thermite arrows in quick succession, and jumped. I managed to get safely to the catwalks as the arrows detonated, and watched as the chain reaction brought the dish down. Decloaking, I broke into a run and made for the main section of the Hermes station.

On arrival, Shepard tasked Grunt, Jack, Tali, and I to cleanup duty as she spoke with Dr. Archer.

"Fucking Cerberus. Dumb shits don't know when an experiment is going too far." Jack said as I hauled the body of a Cerberus scientist to a casket.

"Can't argue with you there Jack. No worries. I got a plan to shove a Reave mixed with a Flare up their ass when we're done with the Collectors." I say, hinting at my personal plan to do exactly as I said, knowing what the future holds if I don't do something.

"Good to hear that someone has some fucking sense around here." Jack replied as she went back to work.

Just then, Shepard came out of the main area of the station.

"Food and latrine break is now, we move in 10!" She called out to the four of us.

I grabbed a chair and opened a small rations pack, and ate it. Next stop, either Vulcan or Prometheus station.

* * *

**A/N: Whooowee this took a lot longer than I'd like to write. Overlord will be broken into two parts. This one, and the next chapter, which will be Vulcan, Prometheus, and Atlas stations. As you may have noticed, Nick is becoming a solo operator, with a style based on stealth and silent, fast strikes, involving use of the predator bow, one of my favorite gaming weapons. As stated in this chapter, Nick is autistic, so Overlord hits close to home with him, and I know how to write this because I am autistic, and I feel very sorry for David every time I play Overlord, and my logic on this will be revealed in due time.**

**I also began writing this chapter a week after uploading chapter 7, but after a number of save failures and by extension, loss of writing, and general loss of muse, this chapter took a lot longer than I'd like.**

**Beta'd by Eclipse-Luna (formerly Konner N7; check his profile to see why he changed his pen name.)**

**And once more, I have made the cover pop out a bit more. The BG for the image is from a DeviantArt artist named Pateyos. Props to him for a really awesome crysis armor mode pattern. How do you guys like the new cover?**

**-Jötunn**

**Updated 4/16/14**


End file.
